FOOTBALL: Week 4 reflection
Golden Knights run over Conquerors
St. Francis impressive in 35-21 win over Los Altos.
Question: How good is Dietrich Riley? All the expectations of him being one of the best wide receivers around, but he is turning out to be one of the area's top running backs.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/preps/scoreboard/week4.asp#
Click on this link for top ten rankings from Tribune, Star-News and Whittier, as well as the week-by-week season schedules.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/preps/scoreboard/top10.asp#
Friday's Games
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Arcadia 13, Burbank 7 - Apaches need to come back in this one. Was a weakness exploited or is Burbank better than expected?
Pasadena 26, Crescenta Valley 9 - Bulldogs pull it out in second half for first win.
NONLEAGUE
Alhambra 35, South Pasadena 3 - Moors erupt for 28 points in the second half.
San Marino 75, Keppel 0 - Is it true that Keppel didn't want a running clock?
St. Francis 35, Los Altos 21 - Quick start by Golden Knights is key factor in impressive win over Conquerors.
Mojave 14, Maranatha 3 - Minutemen come home from another long trip empty-handed.
Compton Centennial 40, Marshall 12 - Nothing surprising in this one. Eagles are struggling.
La Salle 23, Monrovia 14 - I felt it was a matter of time before the Lancers got going, but what's happened to the Wildcats?
Bosco Tech 52, Murphy 6 - Tigers win easy one as expected.
Rosemead 34, Temple City 12 - A tough week for Rams. Rosemead on a roll.
Blair 38, Whittier Christian 26 - This win opened my eyes. The question is how good will this team be in the RHL. Could be a banner season in Viking land.
Saturday's Games
Brentwood 34, Poly 0 - Panthers unable to put a loss on Brentwood.
Santa Clara 33, Flintridge Prep 7 - Rebels suffer first loss of season.
Thursday's Games
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Muir 48, Hoover 0 - Mustangs open up league by making a statement.
NONLEAGUE
Pomona 31, Gabrielino 7 - Eagles have a Red Devil of a time against Pomona.
Eagle Rock 48, La Canada 7 - The Spartans prove no match for two-time City Invitational champs.
Muir s Myles Campbell runs for a first-and-goal in the second quarter against Hoover at Glendale High School in Glendale on Thursday night. The Mustangs won, 48-0. (Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer)
Thursday's Games
No real surprises here
Muir's Willie Youngblood (33) runs for a first down in the first half against Hoover. (SGVN Staff Photo Keith BirminghamSXSports)
Muir on a mission
Mustangs start title quest with 48-0 rout
By Dylan Kruse, Correspondent
GLENDALE - A year after seeing a surprising Burroughs team snatch away the Pacific League championship, the Muir High football team entered 2007 ready to reclaim its usual place atop the standings.
Thanks to Thursday's 48-0 league-opening rout of Hoover at Glendale High's Moyse Stadium, the Mustangs appear to be on the championship path.
Muir quarterback Reuben Thomas threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns and ran in another score, while running back Willie Youngblood rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns to carry the Mustangs to victory.
"We're elated," Muir head coach Ken Howard said. "We're elated. This is what we've been working toward. Burroughs came in last year and took the title. Our goal is to win the league title back."
Muir set the tone from the opening bell when Thomas found wide receiver Ahmere Owens on a swing pa on the first play from scrimmage that Owens took up the left sideline 65 yards to the end zone.
A Marcus Thompson 18-yard TD catch from Thomas and a Youngblood 3-yard scoring run on Muir's next two possessions put the Mustangs up 20-0 before the Tornadoes could even blink.
"We put in the work in practice all week," said Thomas, who also rushed for 28 yards.
"We tried to have no mental mistakes."
Youngblood scored once more, this time from four yards out, giving the Mustangs a 27-0 advantage at the half.
While the Muir offense thrived, totaling 430 yards, the defense would not be overshadowed.
The Mustangs (2-2, 1-0) forced three Tornadoes fumbles, and Owens picked off a pass from Hoover quarterback Erik Galvan in the second quarter.
Muir held the Hoover attack in check all night, and the Tornadoes finished with just 57 yards of total offense.
"We worked on our defense all week," Howard said. "We wanted to stay patient and not over-pursue. I'm proud of the guys."
Hoover (0-4, 0-1) didn't pick up a first down until late in the third quarter, when running back Jonathan Mai broke off a 12-yard run. Mai finished as the leading ball carrier for the Tornadoes, rushing 10 times for 27 yards.
The second half was more of the "Thomas and Youngblood" show for the Mustangs.
Thomas scored on a 14-yard scamper and tossed his third touchdown pass of the night, this time to Myles Campbell from 23 yards out, and Muir took a 41-0 lead after three quarters.
"We wanted to work on our passing game," Thomas said. "It was a little shaky last week."
Campbell proved to be the go-to guy for Thomas,hauling in three passes for 117 yards, including two 47-yard catches.
Youngblood, who turned in his second consecutive impressive performance, scored on a 9-yard jaunt to put the finishing touches on Hoover.
"We're just taking it one game at a time," Thomas said. "We've just got to keep working hard in practice."
The road will get a little tougher for Muir next Friday when the Mustangs host a gritty Glendale team at 7 p.m.
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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. |
Davidson was never the AD. She is the vice principal over athletics. Tamar Hill is the AD. She is also the coach for the basketball team. I think it would be Davidson's decision.
Davidson was never the AD. She is the vice principal over athletics. Tamar Hill is the AD. She is also the coach for the basketball team. I think it would be Davidson's decision.
I think Davidson was an interim AD and and the new AD is the one who dd the play by play last year. She was a really good announcer. I hope she's as good of an AD. Wheeler has tenor and can't be fired. He can, on the other hand, be demoted to asst coach or ceramics teacher. Matthews is just a little Wheeler and thnks he'll get the head coachng job when and if Wheeler leaves.
We could debate Wheeler's fate until the end of the season, but given that his fate is in the hands of Davidson, he might have a chance. Everyone in LC knows that Davidson cares about the school, but I believe this is her first year over Athletics and she is a very fair lady. My son was in trouble with her in the past, and she was brillant in how she dealt with the situation. She is smart and from what I have observed at the games, she seems to have a supportive relationship with the coaches. Chances are she will support Wheeler this year but will expect some changes. I don't agree with the blogger who said that she is not long for the school. She has the hardest jobs on that campus but handles the pressure well.She is a very warm person even with the bull she has to probably deal with. She is an excellent match for the LC community.
Does La Canada still have the trainers from Fourtunace run the conditioning program?
I wonder how much time Wheeler puts in to preparation. If one has not studied the opponent and created a practice plan based upon what the opponent has, how much does he really want to win. The days of mano y mano are gone at LC. I'll bet Wheeler leaves after the game on Friday and shows up at practice Monday with no idea of what the opponent has. That's a great work ethic to teach the kids. He's got to GO! Wake up LC administrators! He's is making a laughing stock out of our school. He and Dr. D. must be from the same mold. We know who the only person in the administration is that truly cares! I'll bet she's not long for this school. What a shame!
Don't knock LC because the RHL rules
I am just considering a winning team vs an obviously struggling group.
new york
great question...thought provoking as usual..
no doubt the Monrovia JV squad is very strong. I agree with the A-DAWWG that come RHL time the Monrovia-Varsity will be in contention. The JV are already dialed in- they beat a well coached La Salle team last week. I would imagine there are JV players who could make the jump to Varsity - on talent alone. However, the added playing time at JV this year will make those players even more effective come next season. It is the kind of "problem" other schools only wish they had.
LC lost some (3) coaches from last year at the varsity level. Two were young guys...and they were replaced by young guys. Youth in coaching is good for energy...but they're still inexperienced when it comes to practice planning and game management.
I wouldn't bash all the coaches across that staff. The Young's are young and the kids are struggling with yet another new offense. They could use some more coaches and consistency in that program. Wheeler might be to blame here...they have to be close to having the most coaching turnover than any other program around here. Still, the talent level at LC is down some. Peterson and Hopkins were great.
New York,
Is difficult to answer your question.
The majority of the JV coaches are also the varsity coaches. I think the JV players would put up a good game for a few plays... but the varsity players have too much speed and size. Varsity will come up big for RHL.
ATOMIC DAWWG
No Whiners in football since apparently you know the the blogger why don't you take it up with him directly. Stop posting here; you sound like an infant and worse. There is no way to defend that staff and you are just going to get people going and for the guys bashing the LC coaching staff, STOP. Nothing is going to change and your blogging just makes LC look bad. Just do what eveyone else does in LC who has a kid who can play football and have your kid go to SF, LS, Loyola or Marantha. Stop blogging on this topic.....no one cares.
No whiners in football,
If you think LC has a good coaching staff you are either a relative of the staff, on the staff or clueless. Also, I have not been a high school or college coach for over 20 years and have never applied to be a coach.
Dawwg,
If Monrovia JV players and coaches went up against the varsity players and coaches right now, who would win?
It is amazing the vile haltered of some on this blog, its high school sports, get a life. It seems like some one this blog just will not let go of Wheeler at La Canada. Could they see this venue as a pr platform to get the job they apply for every year at La Canada. Yes, Hopkins and Lavelle are two of the most talented players to come through La Canada in the last three years, who could argue, but the list of others is long. This year’s team has great heart and will do what they do. But give it a break. You have been fired from so many coaching positions, who gets fired in the middle of a high school season? You have lied and spread malicious and untruths to get others fired. My suggestion, go find some friends of Bill W and reflect on yourself rather than others.
What were some of the JV & Freshman scores?...I was busy on the ESGV blog trippin off of some of the Racist and biased garbage against Duarte's Coaches and the Duarte Players.
JV Update:
The JV Update was created for the JV players, other JV teams, SGV, fans, and the parents. The JV players work hard and practice hard all Spring, Summer camp, Hell-Week, and go toe to toe with the varsity players during the week. Therefore, the JV teams deserve some acknowledgement for their success on the field of dreams.
The heart and strength of a successful program start at the JV and Frosh levels.
ATOMIC DAWWG
Come on La Canada people!!! Your team just isn't good this year. Deal with it and move on.
By staff - do you mean spartanfan.
This had got to the the last year for Wheeler at LCHS - there is no one who wants him back - except for his staff who couldn't get jobs ANYWHERE else.
Spartanfan is everything that is wrong with LC. He is happy to go 1-9 - so long as he gets to keep his coaching job.
Spartanfan is absolutly nuts and knows less than nothing. LC is now without the saviors Hopkins and Peterson and their real coaching skill shows 48 -7 loss with a running clock to ER. The coaching staff should be fired and you should stay off the boards.
Quit crying Spartanfan... IF you never met coach Wheeler and Co as you state how can you comment? The blog is a forumn for all to vent their thoughts and ideas. What makes you think your opinion is better than anyone elses'? and my my kid goes to Poly!
I am amazed that grown men would spend their time on these blogs with the obvious intent of slamming hard working high school athletes and their dedicated coaches. It is one thing to slam highly paid NFL stars, but to slam coaches who literally give up their lives for the love of the sport and coaching is just dreadful. The LC coaching staff is just as talented as any other in the league. The problem is there are some sketchy parents,actually one parent in LC, who can never keep a coaching job in any capacity ( high school, pop warner) and he wants to go after hard working men with integrity because he is jealous. He slams Coach Wheeler and Coach Mathews any chance he gets, but he fails to see the obvious: Wheeler and Mathews have never been fired from any coahing job, and judging by their dedication, they never will be. This parent ( and we all know who he is) is no longer coaching anywhere, at least not football. OK........Your "son" is off to college, so it is time to leave the coaches of LC football alone. Their integrity has been questioned by you publicly and privately, and they have shown class every step of the way. You have been given the chance to redemm yourself, so don't blow it by bashing the LC coaches. Its amazing that you still bash these guys knowing that you will not be allowed to continue as a volunteer "coach" if the powers-that-be find out........and it is only a matter of time.........The person whomakes the decision if you stay or go will cut you lose in a new yorkminute if she even suspects that you are talking about her guys. She is a patient woman, but when she is done, its really over. Beware! I have never personally met nither Coach Mathews nor Coach Wheeler, but I know for a fact these guys are decent guys. From everything I have heard about Coach Mathews, he is a class act. Leave the guy alone!
RE:
When will GHS turn things around? I heard about growing pains but enough is enough. Major changes need to take place.
Posted by: bruin eagle #4 | September 28, 2007 05:47 PM
MUCH AGREED...
Maybe Gabrielino needs a shakeup in its coaching staff...
We are not mad at the Star News for picking us to lose this week becuase past years have proved to be a mess. However there is something special going on at Blair this year and if the Vikings continue to improve week after week, they will be a force in the RHL. They have the most explosive offense in the SGV. Maybe the StarNews will give us a tiny bit more love, but if not we will be happy for what we get. We know who we are.
The Rosemead TC game was a great game.
TC looked to be the controling team most of the time! TCs Def was playing great! There Run game was shut down by a great Rosemead Def but they put it in the air and were successful!
Rosemead started to catch some breaks that can change a ball game and TC had to force something with not much time left but made some mistakes.
The score didn't reflect the actual game AT ALL!!!!
Should have ended 20-19 Rosemead!!!!
GREAT GAME TILL THE LAST 4-5 MINUTES!!!
It can never be repeated enough........THIS IS WHY YOU PLAY THE GAME!
My picks were HORRIBLE!
SF, great win, and I missed this won bad!! I'm not sure if Los Altos isn't that good or had a bad day or is SF just good. Either way, congrats SF you guys proved me wrong. It's still going to get ugly for you guys the next few games though.
Arcadia....what happened?? THat was an absolutely ugly game that I saw tonight. You guys KNOW you were lucky to get out of there with that one. WOulda, coulda, shoulda, is killing Burbank right now, but they SHOULD definitely have won the game and you guys KNOW it!! With that said.......scoreboard.......and congrats on your first league victory.
Monrovia???? Wow!! All I can say is WOW!! I think most folks on this blog, including myself, were waiting for your "talent" to shine at some point this season. O-Cat you keep talking about all this amazing youth you guys have. Yeah well, if I'm not mistaken, La Salle was supposed to be young and rebuilding too. Simply put....you guys are NOT a good football team. AT ALL!!! Others have said it before and I wasn't quite sure, BUT Blair HS will be the Rio Hondo League champs. And will some Monrovia fan other than New York PLEASE admit that your team is not good and just stop creating excuses for this bad team. La Salle?? That hurts.
I picked against the dogs vs. CV because of there God-awful coaching, but as I mentioned they just have too much talent....although to be down to CV at the half is just plain embarrasing.
Others have said it before, specifically Freddie J, but now I believe.....Blair HS will win the RHL. I picked them to beat Whittier Christian, and I hear they looked good doing it. I think we can all admit Tip Saunders is a pretty damn good coach. PHS, you totally dropped the ball on this one. You could have had a proven coach like Tip, not some NOBODY like Mills whom everyone said was great because he turned Blair into a .500 team. Now Blair picks up what PHS threw away and he is going to do WAY better the Mills did at Blair. Terrible.
A lot of folks, especially on the ESGV blog were all over Coach Crutchfield at Duarte for runnung up the score vs. Ganesha. If the same isn't done to San Marino, as much as I'd hate to, I may have to pull out the race-card. In all actuality, neither team should be criticized, they both ran the ball on some REALLY bad teams who simply could not stop them. What do you want the kids to do, take plays off and get hurt?
Muir is still all potential and hasn't proven a thing. No quality wins to speak of, and it doesn't get any better when they host Glendale next week. I do like the new addition they have at wideout though.
It seems as if TC's 2nd half troubles continue....unfortunate.
Alhambra is just way to much for SP.
What an intersting couple of days.
Arcadia got lucky to escape with the win tonight. Burbank was trying to run out the clock but fumbled, allowing Arcadia to score with 7 seconds left.
The Blair Vikings showed that they have HEART! After being down at half-time by one point, they fought so hard and it was cool.
Blair vs Whittier Christian! Wow! What a game. Fr. QB Sanders is almost as good as his Grandpa Coach Tip. The Mighty Vikings have gotten off to one of the best starts in 20 years. Reyes made some incredible catches and is on his way to an All-CIF year with Devin Fuller. Blair's O Line is the best in the SGV. The Blair fans were as loud as I've heard in years. It was wild tonight at Muir High. Don't look now but the Vikings r 4 real!
muir is g0in 7-0
i like how everyone put down SF and they kill los altos just proves you cant count anyone out
phs sucks
SF MADE A STATEMENT TONITE BABY!!!!!!!!!
Our Blair team is making progress and I'm not saying we are all that but our fans sure are! At one point our fans were the loudest I've ever heard against a very good Whitter Christian team. We stayed together, kept our poise and got a victory. Things are changing at Blair and it's a lot of fun.
Blair picked up a quality win against Whittier Christian. That should move them up in the top 10. Pasadena pulled away in the second half from CV. I expected Mojave might be too much for Maranatha. I was surprised by how close the Arcadia/Burbank score was. Rosemead lived up to its billing. And St. Francis made a statement.
Goldenarm
Just Curious who was the JV Lineman you were there for?
JohnM,
Don't knock other football programs. Obviously people care about them or they wouldn't be writing anything on this blog. And just so you know, LC has made the playoffs the last three years and reached the quarterfinals in the 2004 and 2005 seasons with a league championship in 2004. This blog isn't only for the teams you think are "accomplished" because as you can see many "note-worthy" teams haven't been doing so great lately.
And I believe Wheeler is foolish in failing to give credit to his previous "heroes" and he would do better to just admit that this is a rebuilding year. However, if LC wants to win anymore games, they truly do need to play as a team, because they don't have anybody to carry them this season.
Can San Marino schedule be more easier next year? But they do need to keep Keppel on the schedule.
who really cares about JV scores? If those kids are that good, please move them up to Varsity.
Blair update?
JV Update:
Monrovia's JV team are 5-0 after knocking off La Salle's JV team who were 4-0. La Salle's JV played with a lot heart until the end. My hats off to the staff and the team.
MHS 15-6.
M-town's JV team are ready to take on RHL
DAWWG
I think the last Hoover win over Muir was in the early 60s.
Why all the concern about the status of La Canada football? When was the last time the program accomplished anything noteworthy?
Oh brother - Yeah it is really a bad thing to have Hopkins and Lavelle - what would a coach put down the 2 players who save his --- the last 3 years?
Wheeler believes that because his team has no heroes (such as Hopkins or Lavelle) that the team will work together instead of relying on these players to carry them and this will make the team ultimately better in the end. The problem is that the only thing that held LC together the last couple of years were these "heroes" because the coaching is horrible.
When will GHS turn things around? I heard about growing pains but enough is enough. Major changes need to take place.
JJ
no espionage on the Mead,not sure it would help much anyway...they are hyped and look good!
I was there solely to support a lineman on the TC JV squad -
You sure you werent spying Goldenarm?...J/k.
Good luck to both teams tonight and stay safe and injury free!!and if TC has to score I hope its done by my nephew.
What is a "no hero approach"?
I saw a little of the Rosemead varsity squad on the practice field yesterday...workin hard and intensity level already primed for Friday. TC - make sure you use both snaps on the chin strap tonight - these guys look well coached and prepared.
TC JV are 3-1, beating Rosemead 28-13.
I think burbank will come into arcadia ready to play.
Arcadia 38
Burbank 24
observantcat i see the funny comparison you are trying to make---but the second half had a running clock unlike blairs game----the score would have gotten out of hand if they didn't use the clock
It's a statement that Glendale will get worked over too.
The LC QB will not last the season with that line. It may be the worst HS line I have ever seen. They don't even seem to know the most basic techniques.
I am speechless about how bad LC is. What has happened? First game for me this year. I think this team would lose to a good freshman team, seriously.
Trivia time! Anyone know the last time Hoover actually beat Muir?
You sure those were'nt the blair vikings in the Muir uniforms?..that game sure seemed like deja vu. 49-10 or 48-0 hmmmm. Go Mustangs!!!
I really feel for the LC QB. Wheeler and his no hero approach is going to get that kid hurt. They play tentative and scared and that will get alot of players hurt. Look for LC to possibly finish dead last in the Rio Hondo. WAR No Hero's.
Might not be a bad bet Burbank.
If Muir rang up 48 against Hoover-then I'll take Arcadia by 42 over Burbank.
I think the statement is that they're not going to give up anything to the weaker teams. Not even a cheap TD.
I guess beating Hoover is making a statement...interesting headline SG.
Wheeler was right - he has no heroes. Only he could think that is a good thing - the rest of us know it means a 48-7 loss with a running clock in the second half against a team that was missing several starters including its star QB and 2 of their top lineman and linebacker. Welcome to the future of LC football.
Losing 48 to 7 is getting the crap kicked out of you not the other way around.
i almost hope its not a typo but la canada is kicking the crap out of eagle rock
so much for city section ivitational champs
way to represent the wsgv!
Which Centennial is Marshal playing? Corona? Compton?