FOOTBALL: Season ends for Blair, a minute early

Santa Clara beat BD 20-16 in overtime. It was a very entertaining game to watch. Cierre Wood was contained in the begining of the game, but had a great second half. He scored 2 td's. In the ot a BD reciever dropped what would have been the game tying td, and possibly game winning pending the pat. Overall, was a great game

Congrats to Colony who won their 2nd title in a row. What is funny is that Burbank Burroughs lost to them 20-17 in the 1st round. And, burroughs is mostly Jr. so the pacific will have there hands full.

BD will beat SC!
BD was winning most of the game during their first meeting... BD by 3!!!

Any off-season updates? I can't believe it's been two weeks already.

cierre wood was mentioned in a sports illastrated article about players getting d1 scholarships after having breakout years

I saw that Calpreps has Santa Clara / Bishop Diego scored at 27-26. Should be played in mud bowl conditions if the weather forecast is correct.
May be time for a drive to Moorpark on Saturday - one more shot at seeing some prep ball.
I am sticking with BD in an upset.

NY, Hal

Good point - also this should go beyond just losing- if the voices fall silent it could be viewed as reinforcing the sour grapes notion

VIKES
if it is based in truth, you will find support.

New York and Goldenarm, I too am rooting for justice. And I agree that if the non-winning team complains it often looks like sour grapes. It won't change the outcome of the contest, of course, but I hope something positive can come out of this.

Tough situation. It would be a far more powerful movement from the victor's platform. Too bad Blair did not win the game. When the losing team complains about anything, the argument does not carry as much weight. I hope justice prevails.

Hal,
I suggested a similar approach...really the only option that makes any sense... and would establish the validity of the statements being made.

There was a "concerned teacher" apparently from Blair that sounded legit and was encouraging players to do the same. It would be good news to hear someone was running with it...otherwise as you seem to be saying...it's just lip service BS at this point. Somebody within the faculty or program should consider it worth the time to pursue.

If the allegations are correct about the "N" word being used in the Blair playoff game then complaining about it on this blog does no good. Take it to the authorities. If the referres were using that word, they should be publically reprimanded and fired. If the VC players were using it, the players should be disciplined and the game referees should be reprimanded for not doing anything about it.

Unless someone has it on video or audio (surely someone was videotaping the game) it just becomes one person's word against another.

If it really happened the way it was told on this blog, the Blair administration needs to make a formal complaint. If they don't then they believe that nothing inappropriate must have been said.

o-cat please do-tell about the CATS .i would love to know whats happening .something about transfers or are they all ready enrolled

the santa clara vs BD game is at moorpark college at 7:30 on saturday.

It's a bit of both. I know of a couple of players that were at private schools that are very good athletes one is a reciever and one is a very good linebacker. Both are Monrovia residents and both are very good students. 3.0+gpa's perfect combo to add to a already good team.

O-Cat,
That could be nice, but we always have enough in the cupboard.

O-cat
are you talking about known talent purposefully checking into the Wildcat house...as in to play fball?
I wrote a lengthy response earlier...hopefully scott will dig it out of the censor's back pocket

Santa Paula and Grace Bretheren from the Tri-Valley League are trading places with Bishop & Santa Clara from the Frontier league. The two best (Frontier) & two worst (Tri-Valley) from these leagues do this every two years. I think the rest of the leagues from the Mid-Valley remain the same. CIF usually realigns divisions every 5 years and this is the second year in the cycle. Next year the Frontier league will be down. I think the RHL should dominate in '08.

Hey Mid Valley do you know of any other changes in the Mid Valley next year .Like who is moving out? and who is moving in?

Scott
the censor is alive and has attacked - swallowing my blog entry. Is it random or the "Curse of Robledo" at work?

O-cat
normally good to hear from you - take it easy on the "good news"...just kidding.
You know I took some artillery fire cheap shots when I CORRECTLY acknowledged that Monrovia was not going to be a disapointment this season.
Some people hold some hatred for the Cats. Guess the same goes for the perennial Rambashers. Early on there was the customary low blows on what Garrison can and cannot do with talent. My crystal got dented some places...but overall I was usually close to the bullseye at least. I have already stated the promise I saw with your JV squad, and I am talking behavior and discipline, not number of games won. Definitely will give us fuel to light when it comes time to rap on this next year.
You may be right on the SC/BD game outcome..but with the 42/41 game in early season, and seeing how cohesive the BD team is - I am sticking to my prediction.

My Bishop boys made it to the finals. They've been looking forward to a rematch w/Santa Clara. Since that Santa Clara game on Oct. 26th they have given up a total of 6 points! I saw the Bishop/Santa Clara game on the 26th and the Cardinals played their worst defensive game of the season. They were a missed PAT from going into OT. BD's offensive rolled over the Saints defense. I think this rematch will have a very different ending.
NOTE: Bishop and Santa Clara are moving up to Div X next year so no Wood v. Williams final.

Goldenarm:

I myself would like to see the Santa Clara Game. I think that SC will run away with this game. It should give the Monrovia Fans something to look forward to for next year, Woods vs Williams in the finals. I saw Woods last year as a sophmore against Duarte in the playoffs and he had the confidence of a first year college player back then. He is a special player and is the pure athlete that every team wants and needs to win a CIF championship. If the weather is right look for him to have one of his best games ever. By the way goldenarm the Monrovia arsenal is looking even more potent coming into next year, I hear we have some pretty good transfers back at the school wanting to get on the Monrovia bandwagon. The names will probably be revealed in early april during hell week.

Muddy,

No B! And I'm way past 21...

I'm stickin with BD, and I am hoping that all 22 ACL's hidden under their frocks are not torn. Their bench is short on clergy. Dudes ride in a nice bus though.

I am keepin all the ingredients sealed in my mojo bag over the off season..they need full strength comingling and aging to awaken the TC crew early next September. The 08 RHL is going to be widespread war and one must prepare!

Like you, I would enjoy seeing that game. I 'am not ready for hoop yet...

GA,

You called it with BD. Looks like a rematch of SC vs BD where SC won 42-41 earlier in the season. Your pick? You know who I have picked. :)

I am seriously considering making the trip to see Wood and this rematch for the CIF Championship. BD may have the D, but SC has the "weapon" to make any D want to cower in a darkened closet while sweating profusely in a fetal position and cry out for one’s Mommy. I am not sure if any mojo bag or even a “roll of dem chicken bones” would make a difference.

As a side note, have you seen tape on Wood? After he scores, there are no summersaults, shenanigans, or “F” bombs. He simply scores and drops the ball after crossing the goal line. In a time where showboats get headlines, it is nice to see when less equates to more.

/pops in “Manish Boy”

“When I was a young boy… At the age of nine… My Momma said I was gonna be ‘The Greatest Man Alive!’…”

MW
Bishop Diego knocked off Paraclete, I heard 14 - 6??
It was not the burning bush in the Lancaster desert...BD has a rock solid "D"...and that can take a team deep into the playoffs...when you couple it with near mistake free, fundamental football.
I hope they play somewhere nearby next round...their quiet precision is fun to watch

Wood shines again to power Santa Clara
By Derry Eads (Contact)
Saturday, December 1, 2007
CERRITOS — Three years ago, the Santa Clara High football program closed the book on its 16th consecutive non-winning season.
On Friday, the Saints completed their second straight 10-win season and have earned a trip to the program's first CIF championship game appearance in 42 years.
No small thanks to Santa Clara's career rushing and scoring record holder, Cierre Wood.
Putting on another one of his clinics, Wood had 475 all-purpose yards and scored six touchdowns as Santa Clara (10-1-1) defeated Valley Christian/Cerritos, 42-20, in a Mid-Valley Division semifinal game.
Valley Christian dropped to 7-6.
Santa Clara will meet the winner of today's Bishop Diego-Paraclete game in the Mid-Valley final Dec. 8. If Bishop Diego wins, the championship game will be played at Moorpark College, confirmed Santa Clara athletic director Mike Shubert. If Paraclete wins, it would host Santa Clara.
"We knew that this was the year to reach the CIF championships game," said Santa Clara coach Fran Fredette.
"It will be a difficult challenge next year when we move up to the Tri-Valley League and have to play Oaks Christian and Oak Park."
Because it has shared or won outright the last two Frontier League titles, Santa Clara and Bishop Diego will switch places with Santa Paula and Grace Brethren under the Tri-Counties Athletic Association guidelines.
Winner of nine straight games, Santa Clara has scored 40 or more points in its last seven games. The Saints have also scored a school-record 482 points.
Valley Christian, which had won six of its last seven games after a four-game losing streak, looked like it might give Santa Clara a test. Valley Christian needed just three plays to drive 70 yards for a touchdown on its first possession. It was costly. Wade Struiksma, who caught two passes for 73 yards on the drive, was injured after the second play of the game and did not return.
Just five days after University of Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis visited the Santa Clara campus and before area and national media (Sports Illustrated had a writer attending the game), Wood scored on the first three times that he touched the ball — an 85-yard run, 66-yard punt return and a 71-yard run on the Saints' first offensive play.
"I was getting some great holes to run," said Wood, who increased his school record season rushing yardage total to a county-leading 2,401 yards. "You have to give them credit, especially the work by the special teams."
Wood, who has 22 plays of 50 yards or longer this season, also scored on runs of 56, 86 and 17 yards.
The Santa Clara junior, who has fielded offers from several major colleges, including USC, finished with 324 yards rushing, marking the second time that he has surpassed the 300-yard total on the ground this season. He pushed his career rushing total to 4,112 yards, becoming the 13th Ventura County runner to reach that milestone.
Santa Clara led 21-7 in the first quarter, despite being limited to five offensive plays.
Wood scored his fourth touchdown on a 56-yard run three minutes into the second quarter. Daniel Garcia's second interception of the game set up an 86-yard Wood run with 7:24 left in the half.
The highlights didn't end with spectacular touchdown plays.
Late in the half, Wood was set up to punt from inside his own 10. A high snap from center sent him scrambling into the end zone. Wood chased down the ball and got off a 40-yard punt before being hit by a Valley Christian defender.
"Cierre Wood has the heart of a champion," said Fredette.
Daniel Espinoza intercepted a third Valley Christian pass in the final minute of the half.
Besides the interceptions, the Santa Clara defense had 11 tackles for losses.
Valley Christian scored its last two touchdowns after Santa Clara had bolted to a 42-7 margin.

Golden,
I got my six string ready and my harp warmed up. We will see if the Clergymen can make it happen.

As for VC, Santa Clara rolled them like a bad cigar. In anyone wants to see a true D1 player, Santa Clara's Wood is the real deal.

http://venturacountystar.com/news/2007/dec/01/wood-shines-again-to-power-santa-clara/

i was there at the blair game and you can hear the "N" from the sidelines and lets not forget how we only had enough room for about 25 fans so most of us had to stand they call themselves valley christian i say valley klan or athias

Concerned Teacher

Please check back and advise if any follow up occurs

On one play VC was called for a late hit and got a 15 yard penalty. Then in the next series a Blair player was on his back and a VC player used the Blair players face to push himself up. When the Blair player knocked the guys hand away from his face he was ejected from the game while on his back. I've never seen such a thing. Why not call a penalty? The kid was ejected. Many players stated that the refs used racial slurs. I can understand if it was just a few players but a several players say they would testify under oath that they heard the refs use the "N" word. Wow!

Could not have been put better, Goldenarm.
Many of the kids at Blair feel helpless as they (in their own personal life experiences) feel that they always get the short end of the stick. I encourage them that if they truly feel that they have been short changed in life, and in this instance this game, instead of complaining about it they need to actually be proactive and say something, being at that game I was disappointed by what transpired and naturally placed blame on the kids until I heard some of the stories that seemed to hold some sort of ground and it does bring about legitimate concern and questioning in my mind. The game is over nothing can change but the POSSIBLE inappropriate conduct of the referees.
So Vikings, its up to you to talk to Tip and Dr. Smalley and have CIF look further into your allegations that are NOT unfounded.

Good luck boys and get your mind and body ready academically and physically throughout the remaining school year and for next year, to those graduating this year show leadership on campus and within your team and teach those to learn from your mistakes to become even better than you were.

Blair Capt

The only good thing to come out of this would be to ask Tip or the Blair AD to look into filing a formal complaint with CIF, naming the referee and describing his actions.

Your squad was penalized for their improper conduct. Give the powers that be your info and let them determine if a reprimand or related disciplinary action is needed.

As many have stated your season was outstanding..if you are returning - look ahead and bring the knowledge learned this year to spring ball.

Muddy W,
Warm up the six string, cause the Italian Clegyman are going to have Paraclete singing the blues by Saturday morning.
This should be a great game to see.
BD 21
Para 13

I have never heard a Christian
School lie this much! This is unbelievable. #55 was playing football and the ref got in his our players face and started calling our kids crybabys. I have never heard of a ref in football who gets in a players face and starts calling him names. And just so everyone knows, the ref who was doing this is the ref in the middle in the picture. I was captain for this game and tried to keep everyone on our side of the ball calmed down. So don't tell me what our players said to a refs face!

If it makes anyone feel better, VC will get rolled by Santa Clara. In fact, Santa Clara will run the table in the Mid Valley Division. Santa Clara is the best team by far in the Division and that RB from Santa Clara, C. Wood, is unreal. Paraclete is the only team that has the only chance of SLOWING Wood down. If CIF allows for 14 defensive players, I think Paraclete could actually win. In case you didn't know, he is a Junior. I am reserving my tickets now to see him for next year.

to all the ones who say we, valley christian, played dirty and that you were harrased by refs, please stop complaining and lying to yourself. i play for valley and you all had worse mouths ive ever heard. your player #55 got kicked out of game cause he said he was going to "f'n kill the ref" he said to his face. and the players defended him. pretty sure you deserve some penalties for late hits and bad mouths. and through the line of shaking hands after the game all we heard was f you. real classy.

To my brothers of the Blair Vikings. We have been teammates for 4 years, and we have grown stronger than any could have imagined. This was a great season and I will naver forget it. I will miss palying on the same team as you guys and will always be a VIKING.

P.S. Rio Hondo League Champs Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My fellow teammates and I felt like we were being verbally assaulted by the referee's in the VC game. I'm going to miss my Blair family. The seniors put Blair back on the map. Now it's time for my little brothers to carry the crown of a Viking. I'm a Viking for life!!....
-PeANuT

A habit is hard to form, when its formed its hard to break. Hard work is all we did on the field. I will miss my viking family. My younger brothers on the team, are in charge of the viking pride. FOREVER A VIKING!
BIG DANNY

I know Blair was cheated. Those referee's worked Blair for their shot at a CIF title. If i was the head of all of CIF i would let Blair and Valley Christian play again againts each other at Pasadena City College with fair referee's.

I covered Blair's game against San Marino. It was the cleanest game I watched all season as far as penalties go. There were only a few and I'm not even sure any were personal fouls, though I'd have to check my notes. Nothing out of the ordinary happened during or after the game. Blair players shook hands with San Marino players and then left like any other team.

It would be interesting to examine how the Blair teams conducted themselves after the San Marino loss vs the Valley Christian loss. San Marino usually plays clean. Perhaps there is some validity to the accusations that CV was dirty.

I must make a correction. Blair actually had three personal foul penalties and two unsportsmanlike penalties called on the team in the second half. I wouldn't say the team lost its cool. A couple of those calls could be considered questionable. But they were called, nonetheless.

question is who if anyone in the RHL will become an "automatic" W. I think that house guest is out the door.
Some degree of parity may be nearing. TC, So Pas and SM will find no free ride down on Arroyo Parkway...and the boys over in M-town have a player or two on their roster next year
Blair coming to life is a good thing

Golden Arm, the rise of the Blair FB program this year certainly strengthened the Rio Hondo League in terms of respectability and viability going forward. Blair's improvement will certainly put the pressure on the remaining RH League teams to further improve.

bf fan,

Considering the distance the team traveled in one season...from obscurity and stepchild - to RHL champ and playoff game winner, one cannot and should not expect all aspects of team perfection to fall into place.

The unfamiliar exposure and recognition, the addictive taste of winning and maybe an aire of invincibility...could all have contributed to a heightened bitterness when
losing was at hand. THIS IS NO EXCUSE...but Tip and staff did make progress in fielding a more disciplined team each and every week they played.

Given time and deeper integration of the FB program, such mental lapses can hopefully be "coached" away. That attitude could be instituted in the off-season and carried into kickoff time.

Four unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a CIF playoff game by Blair take some of the luster off of their otherwise great season. looks like they lost their cool and their discipline when things did not go their way. lack of discipline???

To Fblair,
WOW....try using some proper english when you talk! You sure aren't representing PHS very well. Why are you HATIN on Blair so hard? Hopefully with the excellent record we had, they'll match up Blair and PHS in the preseason...then you REALLY can hate!
Great Job Viking Football! Let the HATERS HATE!!!

Great article on the Blair Pair. This could be a movie someday.

ATOMIC DAWWG

Yes, 28-27.

That was a scary backfield.

Can you imagine having TWO guys in your high school backfield who go on to START in the same positions at UCLA and then on to the NFL.

That would be better than having Akil Harris and Sultan McCulloch in the same backfield.

Regarding the Blair pair...some stats that blow my mind are UCLA averaging 400 yds a game rushing in 1973...and 612 yds in a single game. Unreal at any point of time.

The 70's were my HS playing days in the SGV and I recall other area schools benefitting from Blair transfers...including solid running backs, DB's and wide receivers, some of whom had football savvy parents and left Blair knowing their sons likely would not be getting playing time. One of these Blair exiles ended up at AHS and was an excellent DB...and a semi-good friend over the years....just joking LR...that was 70-74

Add one touchdown for each team to that scenario, according to the article you posted.

How sweet it was... FOUR-A champs, playing with the big boys.

Those are the only 3 players that went to the NFL that I know of. Blair people help us out. What happened to the members of that great team? There must have been a bunch that played in college.

The championship game with Bishop Amat must have been an exciting game. As I understand it, Blair led 21-14 in the 4th quarter. Amat scored a touchdown and went for two but failed, making the final score 21-20; Blair.

Hal,
Thanks for posting that article. It is amazing knowing that Blair and Bishop Amat once squared off in the CIF the title game, with Blair winning. How many guys from that Blair team played pro ball? That article mentioned three, right?

I just want to say that all of the parents (even those of us who don't have sons on the team)are very proud of how well the boys played this season. I agree with Goldenarm. Then way the season ended does not define the players; the season and their record does. Great job! On to basketball season!!!!

Nice article in today's LA Times on the Blair Pair.

At Blair and UCLA, they were a pair beyond compare
McAlister and Johnson were a record-setting running back duo in high school and college in the 1970s. The rest of their lives didn't work out too badly either.
November 26, 2007

One half of the Blair Pair is retired, his days filled with golf.

The other counts the days.

Between them, former Pasadena Blair High and UCLA running backs James McAlister, 56, and Kermit Johnson, 55, lovingly dote on 11 grandchildren.

Neither is in game shape.

"The other night," McAlister says, laughingly recalling a recent get-together of old friends, "we were sizing up our bellies, laughing at each other."

Yes, that much time has passed since the powerful McAlister and the speedy Johnson joined forces at Blair to form one of the most propulsive and prolific running back tandems in state high school football history, earning the rhyming nickname that cemented their fame and has followed them into middle age.

In 1969, the Blair Pair combined for 57 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards rushing in leading Coach Pete Yoder's Vikings to a 13-0 record and the school's only Southern Section football championship. The dream season was capped by a 28-27 victory over La Puente Bishop Amat -- and its pass-and-catch duo of future USC stars Pat Haden and J.K. McKay -- in the 4-A Division final at the Coliseum.

Blair, though it rarely passed, averaged 44.6 points a game.

McAlister rushed for nearly 2,100 yards, Johnson about 1,800, and Marijon Ancich, the winningest high school football coach in state history, later called them "the best combination in a backfield I've ever seen in high school."

Says McAlister, "They called me Mr. Inside and Kermit Mr. Outside. But I could get the corner on you. Don't let my size fool you."

Adds Johnson: "And I could hit that middle pretty good too."

It was a lethal combination.

When the Blair Pair signed with UCLA, giddy Bruins fans wondered which one would win the Heisman Trophy first. Neither did, nor were they able to defeat USC or reach the Rose Bowl, a lasting frustration. But McAlister and Johnson nevertheless helped the Bruins rack up big numbers in Coach Pepper Rodgers' wishbone offense. In 1973, the duo's senior season, UCLA rushed for a school-record 400.3 yards a game, including a school-record 621 in a 59-13 rout of Stanford.

Johnson, who had played in McAlister's considerable shadow at Blair, left UCLA as the Bruins' all-time leading rusher and was the school's first 1,000-yard runner. He and McAlister were All-Americans in 1973, when Johnson set a Pacific 10 Conference record by averaging 7.53 yards a carry.

Together, they rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and 42 touchdowns at UCLA, and McAlister set a school record in the long jump (27-0 1/2 ) that still stands.

They were far less successful in the pros, perhaps in part because of their signing with the Southern California Sun of the upstart World Football League, a decision they both say played a part in derailing their NFL careers.

The Sun filed for bankruptcy after only one season, and McAlister and Johnson, who signed a deal that was supposed to pay them a combined $750,000 over three years, collected only about half of what they were owed.

What's worse, they say, their WFL foray was held against them when they reached the NFL in 1975, Johnson with the San Francisco 49ers and McAlister with the Philadelphia Eagles and, later, the New England Patriots.

"Nobody advised me on it," McAlister says of his signing with the Sun, "and I did something that possibly cost me a long-term career."

Early in 1979, less than five years after they had left UCLA, McAlister and Johnson were out of football. McAlister had accumulated nearly 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in 43 NFL games, Johnson less than 150 in 22. (A third member of the 1969 Blair team, former USC safety Charles Phillips, helped the Oakland Raiders win Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in January 1977.)

Johnson, fulfilling a boyhood dream, joined the Pasadena Fire Department in 1979. "My mother says I like dangerous things," says Johnson, who is still with the department. "I thought fighting fires was fun."

Married to his second wife, Brenda, for the last 24 years, Johnson has two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. Living in Altadena and planning to retire next year, the former Mr. Outside enjoys tinkering with antique cars.

"I have a '56 Ford," he says, "that I call my other woman."

McAlister, who coached football at Blair and two other high schools as well as owning a carpet cleaning and janitorial service, lives in Corona with Carolyn, his wife of 33 years and his high school sweetheart. The former Mr. Inside, who has four grandchildren, already is retired, thanks to the younger of his two sons, Chris, a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback with the Baltimore Ravens.

Says McAlister: "He bought us the house, bought us the cars, gave us a bank account and said, 'It's time for you just to relax.' "

McAlister and Johnson rarely see each other anymore. When they do get together, of course, they can't help but reminisce about the past.

"We talk about our high school days more than anything," Johnson says, "because we're just amazed by the accomplishments of that Blair team. When we were playing, we weren't thinking of the history we were making. We were just playing. So this is a time where we can sit back like fans and say, 'Wow.' "

Vikings

Congratulations on an outstanding season.

The ending does IN NO WAY take away or erase an amazing year and turnaround for the program.

Scott,

Is the soccer blog starting soon?

Blair looks small and undersized in this photo.