FOOTBALL: Rio Hondo League

About that kid Daniel Cadd he was a awsome talent, coaching at Blair in the 90's he was a monster rebounder had a 30 rebound 27 point 12 assist game one night, I think he was 6'3 290lbs playing for me that year. Can't understand how he was so over looked. Saw him on the football field as well started both ways saw him flip San marinos center backwards doing a whole flip. He had the lightest feet for a three hundred pounder I had seen in a while. Great hunger for both sports all league everything quality student athlete. I know he had family tie ups but I just knew I would b watching him on Sundays. He did go to Washington to play for the huskies & last I heard he went to seahawk combine. Go. Vikes

About that kid Daniel Cadd he was a awsome talent, coaching at Blair in the 90's he was a monster rebounder had a 30 rebound 27 point 12 assist game one night, I think he was 6'3 290lbs playing for me that year. Can't understand how he was so over looked. Saw him on the football field as well started both ways saw him flip San marinos center backwards doing a whole flip. He had the lightest feet for a three hundred pounder I had seen in a while. Great hunger for both sports all league everything quality student athlete. I know he had family tie ups but I just knew I would b watching him on Sundays. He did go to Washington to play for the huskies & last I heard he went to seahawk combine. Go. Vikes

There was a kid Daniel Cadd d-tackle the most athletic d lineman in rio hondo hands down. This guy ran a 4/9--40yard dash at 300lbs, could dunk a basketball easily,matter of fact this kid had a triple-double in every basketball game his senior year from the center position. D-1 prospect for sure in both sports and had a 95mile an hour fastball but not gonna get into that. Poor kid got caught up with religion and had some immigration problems. I was one of many fans this talent had even though I was pro already. R. I.P. Coach G-Zeller. Write more on that Daniel cadd kid. Peace G.T.....

How about LB Myron Debose of blair in the early to mid 90's?

Those Muir teams in the mid to late '80s were loaded. Chad Brown, Marcus Robertson, Ricky Ervins, etc. Dozens of D1 players, several pros. Quite an era in SGV football.

People are arguing if the Blair 69 team was the greatest high school football team ever? There were over 30,000 people on hand to see McAlister and Johnson in the same backfield with all those D-I team mates. The Blair Pair as they were called had a great back up 10th grader named Levelle Tip Sanders. Wow, what memories.

Anonymous 8:01am,

You have a good memory. You should pick a name and be more active on this site. Don't forget about Daniel Cadd at DT that '93 year as well. He and Johnson were tough. Did Blair really win league though? I know they tied San Marino head to head, but I think TC was 9-1 that year with their only loss to SM. I thought TC and SM were co-Champs with SM getting the top seed from league.

what about the blair 93' team ..that team was the last viking team to win RHL that line was anchored by mike hernandez, andrew martinez, michael jonhson, and arnulfo sanchez...RB's Z hodges, wharlest Jackson, TE Carl Lee QB Brandon Reed....Those guys should get Recognized at the homecoming ..maybe bring some MOJO to the team .....GO VIKES

Great memories SPHS grad.

I was also a young boy when the Blair Pair did their thing. I remember the buzz around the community and in the newspaper.

When I was a student at Washington Junior High, James McAlister was invited to come and speak at the school. I remember he came in his UCLA jersey.

It was a thrill.

I wish I had a chance to see them play in high school. But it was fun following their (and the other Vikings) careers afterwards.

Adrian,

I bet number 21 is still feeling that hit that Josh Lowden gave him in the Monrovia vs Blair game

RHL JV STANDINGS

Mtown 3-0
SM 2-1
TC 2-1
LC 2-1
Blair 0-3
So PAs 0-3

GO BLAIR, GO BLAIR, GO BLAIR!! THESE KID'S CAN'T FADE DEV FULLER AND NUMBER 21 !!!! BECAUSE BLAIR GOT THE UPPER HAND IN DUECE'S WILD #2(DEV FULLER ) AND THE REST OF THE GREEN RABBITS OF THE VIKINGS!!

Hal:

That 1969 Blair team was unbelievable. I was a kid and my dad took me to a few of the games to see the “Blair Pair” James McAlister and Kermit Johnson. Ironically given the upcoming game, that same year South Pasadena also had a great team coached by Ray Solari. While Blair won the 4A CIF championship that year beating Bishop Amat in the Coliseum, SoPas won the 3A CIF Championship beating Bonita. Heady times for West San Gabriel Valley high school football.

The 1969 CIF champs will be in the house. That is worth the price of admission right there.

I'm rooting for the Vikings. They will find a way to shut down the Tigers' efficient passing attack. It's nothing spectacular but it does move the chains.

SP employs sort of a "5-yards and a cloud of dust" approach to their passing game. It can lead to long, sustained drives.

Good luck to Blair.

Philly B,
It is a simple point. As the season culminates, teams can take on a "look ahead" mode and slack off on the business at hand, meaning an opponent they do not feel threatened by.
A factual scenario on prep or any other level.
You may not "see it" just as others in the past have not. I would imagine Tip, Backus and Garrison see it however and are taking preventive measures in the 1st degree.

VikingPower,

Are the players from the 1969 team really going to the game? They might actually approve of what the vikings are doing. The speed of Blair should handle South Pas. I think they will win the RHL if they just win these last two games. Go Blair! 35-7

Quick correction, 1996 season was Coach's first RHL title and game against S. Torrance. Not to boost Stang Fan's ego even more, but we had some coaches from your neighborhood on the staff back then.

OCat is right with 1970's and early 80's. We had some very bad years from 89-92 though. Damon Griffin never even got to play in the football playoffs.

All else equal, I too prefer seniors. My point is that our boys should still be able to get it done as juniors with our schedule and division.

NY:

Intersting. My point earlier was that for the most part talented senior-laden teams "should" be better than talented junior-filled teams. It doesn't always happen that way, but if you ask most coaches they'd probably take the senior team (depending on the talent of course).

As far as those Monrovia stats are concerned......is it true that Monrovia had a seven-year gap between playoff appearances? And that they hadn't won a league title in the Rio Hondo until 1997? I'd hate to bring up past posts, BUT O-Cat mentioned before that Monrovia was the dominant team in the WSGV the last 25 years. If those numbers are true.......well, it just further validates what I've always thought.

With members of the 1969 CIF Championship team of James MacAlister, Kermit Johnson, Charlie Phillips, Kenny Lipkin and others on the sideline Friday night, the Vikings will be super charged for their homecoming showdown at PCC. But South Pas is a much better team than their record shows and an upset could be in the making if the Vikes get caught up in the hype! Otherwise the Vikings should when the title if they win their next two games because they've beaten TC and the Cats. Nevertheless it will be fun to see the 69 team members, from what some say was the best high school football team EVER!

A junior dominated team in 1994 earned Monrovia's first playoff birth since 1987. That same team had a senior dominated Artesia team up against the ropes in the fourth but could not put them away. Then a junior dominated team in 1997 won Monrovia's first league title including a come from behind win against undefeated TC. That team had South Torrance beaten in the first round but we did not take a knee to run out the clock and fumbled it away. I believe in our boys' ability. There is no reason Monrovia juniors can not have a winning record with our current schedule. Let me say it again. I believe in our boys' ability to beat anybody on our schedule. No, we don't need a time machine to get "the same type of players from the 1990's." I feel like we had similar problems with our 2001 and 2003 seasons, and those kids were only a couple years removed from our tough teams. Granted, there had been some assistant coaching shakeups and other issues.

Truthfully, our best teams in 1997 and 1998 (which I was not on) both had great freshman coaching from Tom Reale and 1997 benefited from the JV coaching of Fil Lujan. By the time they reached varsity they had fundamentals and MOJO (Odessa Permian style). They also benefited from a couple classes ahead of them paving the way and setting an example.

Unlike Muir, our school enrollment has actually grown a few hundred students since the late 1990's. I've posted our numbers before. We have so much potential. I just hope our boys beleive in themselves. Enough losing can takes its toll on a kids true self-confidence and self-esteem. GloucesterCoach called us a paper tiger this year. He was able to play against that 1998 team.

Anyway, I just hope somehow some way we are able to bring the pieces together.

Anon 7:21

I am sure both will claim the crown and get patches, but Blair will be listed as the RHL #1 in the playoffs if they both win out.

OG: Turkey Tussle is on Thursday, November 8 at 7 p.m.

PASADENA STAR-NEWS WILL READ, BLAIR HIGH SCHOOL R.H.L. CHAMPIONS!!! BUT THERE'S A CATCH, ONLY IF THEY CAN WORK SUPER HARD ON THEIR SPECIAL TEAMS! THEM P.A.T.'S ARE CRITICAL! WE AVERAGE 4 - 5 POINTS LOST BECAUSE OF PAT'S AND 2PT CONVERSTIONS.. IN CONCLUSION, GO BLAIR VIKING! P.S. THUG LIFE PASADENA LIVING! PEACE. -ADAM RODRIGUEZ

If Blair and Temple City both end up 4-1, does Blair get the RHL title for beating Temple City, or does it end up a tie and they both are co-champions? Thanks.

Is the tussle on Thursday, I hope so I haven't seen my old school play for awhile in the bowl.

Thanks stang fan, I plan on being their and seeing the Mustangs put a whooping on da bulldogs. It should be a good and exciting game.

Goldenarm,
I dont see anymore upsets for the rest of the season I dont see la canada upsetting T.C. and I dont see South Pas upsetting Blair. So whats your point?? Its pretty much a give me on predicting at least this weeks games for the rio hondo league

Philly B
On your advice to "fan"...

your determination of the RHL champ hinges on Blair winning it's last two games..a probability yes, a certainty no.

This RHL season is not one to rule out the unimaginable. However, your side pot is probably safe.

Philly B.

Yeah the Tussle is on Nov. 8th, it should be a good one...................Muir by 20.

As far as Monrovia's situation, I too am not quite sure if Coach Garrison should be fired. Yes, there appears to be issues in terms of caoching, but as all of the Monrovia fans have been emphatically pointing out, Monrovia is young and is a team of the future. Do they have any quality seniors contributing to the team? Every time I read the paper or someone's post there is ALWAYS a mention of an underclassmen doing this and an underclassmen doing that. Than you read about Blair and ALL of their big-time guys are seniors, with the exception of the coaches grandson.

At the same time, I agree with NY. Some fans feel as though their teams should never be "rebuilding." I for one was sickened during Muir's "dark ages" when Ron Mims destroyed our program. Thank goodness Riazzi did his part to somewhat uplift the program and the new staff has done a great job of reestablishing Muir as a local power again. I'm sure Monrovia will be the team to beat again in the Rio Hondo once these young guys get the hang of it. Shoot, look at Tip and Blair, sometimes all it takes is a year to turn around.

Fan,
I guess you didnt hear but T.C. lost to Blair week 1 of league so the only thing you might get is 2nd place assuming you beat la canada and monrovia beats san marino(I hope) and then the showdown for second place will be next week

Stang fan,
hows it going? I was so pleased to see that score when I picked up the paper on saturday, I knew Muir could take care of business against arcadia. I said this early in the season, One person cannot carry a team against a good team like Muir. Congrats on that game, I hope to be at the turkey tussle. Its on Nov 8th or 9th right??
Muir is definitely back with their stingy defense. But as far as monrovia is concerned after the lost to Blair alot of monrovia's faithful are those monrovians that complain when something is going wrong are callin for Coach G's head and want him out of monrovia. Im not asking for that extreme but Im asking for more of a better choice of play calling and personel. Our best running back half the time is on the sidelines sharing time with another that is not as fast and not as strong

I think Blair really has a shot at it this year. Like someone else said, we've been the floormat of the Rio Hondo league in football, so I'm happy to see us having such a good season.

Philly B.

What's going on bro! I agree with you entirely, especially about Blair and their new defense. That was what impressed me most when I saw them beat TC. I don't see them losing to either SP or LC, but then again I didn't see them losing to SM either so we'll just have to wait and see. BTW, I hope you were satisfied with the final score of the Muir/Arcadia game.

After seeing the Williams Do Express last week - it would be phenomenal to ride that train into a playoff berth. Most every aspect of the team is better each and every week...
Unfortunately the gelling may have happened a week late ...as far as title hopes.

Blair is doing everything they need to do to win. I mean you got defenders socking the ball out of the runners arms, blair has never been known to be defensively sound. With their remaining schedule of teams like south pas at PCC, and La canada, I see them going 4-1 in league, and having home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. For Monrovia to get 2nd place they've got to take care of business at San Marino, in which for the talent monrovia has we always seem to struggle against them. And we have to have basically a perfect game against Temple city at temple City. I really dont know of a time where the cats went to T.C. and beat them at their house

Temple city is going to win IT!
Back 2 Back 2 Back
Rio Hondo League

Blair will prevail as long as they do not see the rest of the season as "coasting". I do predict however, that there will probably be a two way tie between Blair and TC.

Blair should prevail, having beaten TC and Monrovia.
Blair's defense is the primary reason for their success.
It is difficult to say if they are getting better every game, or just doing what is needed to win. Regardless of what transpires, this team has arisen from the RHL floormat to the team now controlling their own destiny.
That said, beware the So. Pas upset and full blown RHL turmoil that would follow.
Some good Fridays lie ahead and the season is too damn short. Ties are horrible.