September 2008 Archives

In case you missed it....

A scary moment in the final minutes of La Canada High School's 21-17 nonleague loss to Alhambra last Friday fortunately turned for the better.

Joe Hughes, a 5-foot-9, 260- pound senior lineman, suffered a concussion after a hard tackle. He did not attend school Monday but is expected to be OK.

La Canada High School principal Damon Dragos confirmed Hughes did suffer a concussion but did not know the grade of its severity.

Because there wasn't an ambulance on site, the game was delayed 30 minutes while paramedics arrived to transport Hughes to a hospital.

Thom Simmons, the CIF-Southern Section spokesman, said the only thing the section requires of the host school is to have current physical examination paperwork on file.

"Having an ambulance on site is a school-district issue," Simmons said. "What happens on their property is their responsibility."

School districts who require an ambulance on site, like many in Orange County, will delay the start of the game if there is none present.

La Canada, however, does follow its guideline of having a doctor on site for its football games.

There have been a few times when I've gone to cover a game in Orange County and the referees would not allow the game to start until an ambulance arrived. Now, that's a school-district rule.

I can't imagine what the parents of Hughes were going through during that moment as his son lay motionless on the field, the moment intensifying more because of the long day for an ambulance to arrive.

Fortunately Hughes will be OK.

But that got me thinking, should schools be required to have an ambulance present at football games like many schools in Orange County?

This story comes from longtime staffer Jim McConnell, the man we call, "The King" around the office. He writes a weekly Then & Now column. McConnell, a journalist for over 30 years, began his career with the now-defunct Pomona Progress-Bulletin and currently works for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, which includes the Pasadena Star-News, Whittier Daily News, and San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Along the way, McConnell has garnered numerous awards from The Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Society for American Baseball Research, and the Los Angeles Press Club. This week he writes Alhambra's rich tradition in football. Enjoy.

JIM McCONNEL

When you talk about prep football dynasties, old or new, you have to include Alhambra High's remarkable streak of sustained excellence.

From 1927 to 1947, under the guidance of George Hobbs, the Moors were a true CIF-Southern Section powerhouse. Alhambra had four undefeated seasons during that span and won CIF-SS Large Schools titles in 1928, 1939 and 1946. The list of Moor alums who went on to play major college football is indeed a long one.

Hobbs was named Alhambra football coach for the 1927 season. The school had fielded a football team since 1912 but had not experienced any real success until Hobbs arrived on campus.

Hobbs brought home a winner in his first season, with Alhambra compiling a 4-3-2 record in 1927 while competing in the rugged Coast League. The Coast League, featuring athletic powerhouses San Diego, Pasadena and Long Beach Poly, easily was the toughest prep football league in the state.

Shout out to my boy Jaime Cardenas formerly of The Times but now one of the PR honchos for the L.A. Galaxy. My boy took me out for a nice steak dinner in downtown Fullerton at Stubriks Steakhouse for my 25th birthday, which of course is today. Had myself a tasty broccoli soup and then a juicy 12 oz. steak with garlic mashed potatoes with gravy and vegetables.

And for dessert, this:

It's called the Banana Foster. Bananas flambéed in a rum and brandy caramel over vanilla bean ice cream. It was awesome and possibly the best dinner I've ever had (that's probably because I didn't have to foot the $120 tab; good looking out).

Good times. Coming up later today, my mamma's spaghetti and sweet flan for dessert.

Star-News preps writer Keith Lair and I will be going head-to-head throughout the season, and I will update our records each Monday on the "Star Picks" thread.

Melendez: Last week: 11-5; Overall: 37-20
Lair: Last week: 12-4; Overall: 40-17

Sorry it took a while to put up this first post. Everything technical-related is down in Pasadena, which means I'm relegated to work from the Tribune office in West Covina where I'm forced to listen to how much Bishop Amat fans cry about not being ranked No. 1 for a whole week. Ugh.

Anyway, here are this week's games with predictions. Note there are no Thursday games.

There are some pretty games this week. I'm still deciding on which game to go. My top two in no particular order is Rosemead at Temple City and Monrovia at La Salle. San Marino should get a pretty good test when they play host to Cantwell; Hoover was way too easy last week. Both the Panthers and Rams are coming off losses while the Lancers and Wildcats are coming off victories. I wonder if the Rams D will be able to stop Tra Sumlar, one of the best running backs in the area. Sumlar didn't play last week against Harvard-Westlake so that Rosemead team was not the same Panthers team you got used to seeing the first few games.

Lair and I have almost identical picks with the exception of the SM-Cantwell and Marshall-Godinez games. He picked Cantwell and Godinez while I picked SM and Marshall. Godinez, if you don't know, is a new high school in the heart of Santa Ana. This is their first year of varsity competition.

Friday's Games
Rosemead at Temple City, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Rosemead); Lair (Rosemead)
Monrovia at La Salle, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Monrovia); Lair (Monrovia)
Cantwell Sacred Heart at San Marino, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Marino); Lair (Cantwell)
Muir at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Muir); Lair (Muir)
Alhambra at South Pasadena, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Alhambra); Lair (Alhambra)
Burbank vs. Pasadena at PCC, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Burbank); Lair (Burbank)
Hoover at Arcadia, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Arcadia); Lair (Arcadia)
Mojave at Maranatha, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Maranatha)
Duarte at Sierra Vista, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Duarte); Lair (Duarte)
Flintridge Prep at Webb, 3:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Flintridge Prep); Lair (Flintridge Prep)
Pomona at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Pomona); Lair (Pomona)
Bosco Tech at Salesian, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Salesian); Lair (Bosco Tech)
St. Francis at Rio Mesa, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (St. Francis); Lair (St. Francis)
Firebaugh at La Canada, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (La Canada); Lair (La Canada)
Godinez vs. Marshall at Muir, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Marshall); Lair (Godinez)
Blair at Brawley (San Diego), 7 p.m. --Melendez (Brawley); Lair (Brawley)

Saturday's Game
Pasadena Poly at Brentwood, 3 p.m. -- Melendez (Brentwood); Lair (Brentwood)

CLICK HERE FOR QUARTER-BY-QUARTER UPDATES!

San Marino came away with a 52-6 victory but that is no surprise. The Titans (3-0) had six penalties and helped Hoover (0-3) move the ball in its favor with a few chances to score.

Credit to Emmanuel Sells who recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter after the Indians penetrated into Titans territory. Unfortunately, it was a Sells blown coverage that led to Hoover's scoring.

All in all, San Marino showed it can throw the ball, albeit it came against a weak team. Still, Hoover needs to find a way to give the ball to backup quarterback Aj Pule. The kid can really throw the ball and is very accurate. He's mobile and not afraid to take a hit down the field. He helped Hoover record a few first downs in the fourth. If he can get some players to step up Hoover might be decent next year.

Here's an interesting note. I was wearing a new suit today (celebrating my b-day after I leave the office here) so I decided to cover the game from the press box to avoid getting it sweaty or dirty. When I sat in the press box, two Hoover coaches walked into my side of the box to send signals to the coaches on the field. It got crowded but it didn't last fast.

After Dooley's 55-yard run with 3:37 left in the first quarter, both coaches slammed the table, got up off their seats and left. It was as if they threw the white flag.

I found that kinda strange but a bit comical.

Tonight's Scores with my thoughts
San Marino 52, Hoover 6 -- Dooley looked great, Wright looked good but there were six Titans penalties. Yikes.

San Gabriel 28, Temple City 21 -- I'm not gonna say I told you so. I'm not gonna say it. The Matadors needed a final 90-yard drive in the final minutes to get the victory. How does that happen? The score was 7-7 at the half. Joey Stewart had 18 carries in the first half but he was used sparingly in the second half. He had only seven carries for 44 yards. TC had a fourth and 2 at about midfield but Stewart was stuffed on his last carry for a no gain that pretty much ended the game.

Alhambra 21, La Canada 17 -- Moors come from behind again to win.

Lynwood 27, Arcadia 7 -- No Golper, no win. Can't say I'm surprised. I should have known but at least the Apaches didn't get blown out like some thought.

Glendale 48, South Pasadena 7 -- Nitros coming out of nowhere.

Monrovia 32, Beckman 7 -- Beckman looked terrible but it's a credit to the Wildcats D. I said it earlier this week: It's only a matter of time until they all click with the Wing-T.

Jefferson 27, Blair 6 -- Neither team could do anything but Jefferson's ground attack proved to be too much. Jefferson threw only four passes.

South Hills 48, Duarte 6 -- Gutsy for the Falcons to even play Huskies.

La Salle 19, Bosco Tech 14 -- Lancers offense still staggering but at least they came out on top, finally.

Mountain View 28, Keppel 8 -- What else is there to say, really.

Village Christian 14, Gabrielino 6 -- Gabrielino offense an enigma.
Rio Hondo Prep at Sage Hill, 7 p.m. -- Waiting....

Flintridge Prep vs. Campbell Hall at Occidental College, 7 p.m. -- Waiting....

Talked to Coach Jon D yesterday and said Todd Golper will not play tonight. Despite the news I'm sticking with my Arcadia pick.

Golper has a broken big right toe and has not received clearance to practice or play. It's looking like he'll sit out against Hoover, too, and hopefully be ready to play against Glendale.

Golper has been swimming to keep himself in shape.

Brian Rambeau, who was also injured against St. Francis, has been doing well and had a good week of practice. He's going to play tailback and safety. With Golper out and Rambeau taking the load at tailback, I'm expecting QB Garrett Tuck to step up and have a good passing game.

"We've been banged up," Dimalante said. "We've had to tailor back and simplify the offense more. Garrett will be ready to throw the ball."

By the way, check out this Scout.com story about the nation's No. 1 linebacker Manti Te'o, from Honolulu. He took his official trip to UCLA last week and mentions Golper in the story. (I didn't post the link because it's a fee-access story on their site)

Scout.com

Scout Recruiting
Te'o Talks About First Official Visit

By Brandon Huffman
SuperPrep.com Sep 23, 2008

The #1 linebacker in the nation, Manti Te'o, from Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou, took his first official visit last weekend, to UCLA, and he talks with Scout.com about the visit and the timeline of his other four trips...

Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou linebacker Manti Te'o (6-2,225) went on the first of his five official visits this past weekend, taking in a trip to UCLA.

"It was a great experience and I got to spend some time with the coaches and the players," said Te'o. "And getting to see California and UCLA was great. I've been to California twice before but this was the first time I ever really got to see UCLA. I saw it from the outside a few years ago."

Te'o was greeted by UCLA's offensive coordinator, and Punahou alum, Norm Chow.

"Coach Chow picked me up from the airport so I mainly talked with him when I got there. We started to get to know each other from then on," said Te'o. "The host I had was (UCLA freshman quarterback) Kevin Prince. He and I talked about the mission process (Prince and Te'o are both LDS), and he said he was still thinking about taking his mission. We had some good talks."

I feel the same as my boy Freddy Robledo. I feel bad, I really do =)P

Ha, at least I'll have something to cheer about Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

I covered the Sanchez at Mission Viejo High so I feel for him. A little. Especially after reading Sanchez's story written by my good friend Jorge Arangure Jr. over at ESPN The Magazine.

Above: Manny Ramirez celebrates with a bottle of champagne. I got to cover a few of these celebrations, drenched in champagne. Good times.

What a day: USC loses, Dodgers clinch ... can it get any better? Oh yeah, b-day weekend celebration coming up. Thanks for the early present Beavers.

Above: The Oregon St. football team probably trying to send their b-day wishes and maybe handing me the game ball?

LA CAÑADA -- "Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out"

That's the beginning of the T.I. song that was blaring from the speakers before the start of the St. Francis High School football game against Burroughs.

Well, there was some truth to it.

I spotted a caravan of Muir players and coaches leaving the game late in the fourth quarter when the Golden Knights all but had it wrapped up, followed by a slew of Burbank players who for whatever reason were wearing their white jerseys.

The crowd on hand witnessed a defense-dominating St. Francis team that rolled to a 30-5 victory over the visiting Indians on Thursday night in nonleague action at St. Francis High.

Our very own Keith Lair covered the game for the paper but after work around 5 p.m. I decided to head out to the game and take my video camera and shoot some of the action. After I finish this blog I'll head to the video room and try to put it all together. If you don't see it up in a day or two then for sure by Monday, I hope.

It's been a long 14-hour day but alas I got to see the top-ranked team. St. Francis proved its worth.

Let me say this: Dietrich Riley hands down is the best player in the San Gabriel Valley.

Period.

(Lair thinks Riley was much better last year but added he came away impressed with Riley on defense. I obviously didn't see Riley play last year but fair enough.)

The junior returned punts, made some hard-hitting tackles at DB and rushed for close to 100 yards on 18 carries. It's far away from his performance against Crescenta Valley where he rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns. But his impact definitely was felt.

With all this talk about Riley people are forgetting about the other guys on the team. Justin sciarra is solid. Malik Speed is a great speedy back that can give you some very good plays and Evan King can push as many as three defenders like when he scored from about 6 yards out. Rian Younker had a pretty good game, too.

It was a close game in the first half, St. Francis (3-0) leading, 10-3. But in less than a minute the Golden Knights scored 14 points. Before you knew it, Burroughs found itself trailing big in the second half as St. Francis went up big. The Indians got their final two points after St. Francis muffed a long snap in its end zone that gave Burroughs a safety.

Burroughs for some reason went for it twice on fourth down, once on fourth and 5 and then again on fourth and 2, both times they gave St. Francis good field position to work with.

To the Indians credit, they did run the ball well especially down the middle. Their line is big and can make good pushes and create holes, but a stingy Golden Knights defense kept the running game on check.

Unfortunately, the Indians (2-1) lost star running back Dalton Williams to a severe ankle sprain on their second play of the second drive. As if that wasn't enough, they then lost their backup running back Eddie Lopez to almost the same injury.

Before the game, Burroughs was doing drills and warm-ups. After finishing they went back into the locker room but two coaches stayed and watched St. Francis' warm-ups, perhaps to get an edge.

It didn't work.

Click here for quarter-by-quarter updates!

Tonight's Showdown with predictions
Burroughs (2-0) at St. Francis (2-0), 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (St. Francis); Lair (St. Francis)

Tonight's game Burroughs-St. Francis game promises to be a good one. So good I might head over after I leave the office and check it out myself.

The top-ranked Golden Knights had a tough time last season battling injuries that ultimately put halt on their playoff hopes.

St. Francis is healthy and have arguably the area's best running back in Dietrich Riley who of course is only a junior. Rian Younker is a strong force on the D-Line. There are lots of reasons the Golden Knights will be scary-good this season and having a balanced team is the big reason. A potent ground attack and an air assault when needed by Justin Sciarra. The offense against Crescenta Valley last week had 315 total yards led by Riley's 213 on the ground. Malik Speed is a player not to be overlooked. His speed compliments the offense well. And lets not forget a defensive unit that has an offensive mind, too.

It should be noted that Burroughs is 2-0 and are coming off a 30-7 victory over South Torrance. The Indians have a big line up front on both sides of the ball, can spread their receivers and have lots of motion which potentially can be confusing. With such a good pass-rush from the Golden Knights expect Burroughs to be in shotgun formation almost the entire game.

I will be covering Hoover at San Marino. I know Hoover has a big line up front but the reality is the Titans will prove to be too much with a powerful running back tandem in Scott Dooley and Benny Hung. To be honest, the Temple City-San Gabriel game is much more intriguing but I won't be there because I'm thinking of covering the Rams when they visit Rosemead next week.

The TC-SG game has all the makings of an offensive showdown. The Rams did not play to their potential against the Moors last week. Morgan Hatch can wreak havoc in the air for opposing defenses so I expect him to bounce back strong against the Matadors. Joey Stewart is very underrated and I came away impressed with how strong he is, gaining most of his yards running up the middle and breaking blocks.

This could be a close game and I see the Matadors pulling away, though I'm not as convinced as many people think.

Isaac Valdez, a junior, will prove his worth. The Rams defense, led by Nick Conora, will have to contain receiver Isaac Villalobos who'll probably be Valdez's favorite target. Arthur Brown is a speedy back who can make big plays like when he broke off a 52-yard touchdown run before it was called back for a holding penalty. True, the 54-14 victory came against a down South Pasadena team, which is why I don't see either team blowing each other out. No matter what you think, Serra and Cathedral are two tough teams. The kid from Cathedral is going to USC for a reason. There's a reason why it went from Heisman-U to Tailback-U. There were no moral victories for the Matadors and not once did I say they were. But they were losses San Gabriel learned from and can see where they stand against the rest. This game is much more important for the Matadors because it is their first true test against an area team. TC has proven itself with a shutout win and a game they should have won against Alhambra.

The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious award in college football. Florida QB Tim Tebow last season became the first sophomore ever to win the coveted award.

The award is named after the great John W. Heisman who made countless contributions to the game, including the forward pass which became legal in 1906 after three years of writing and pestering Walter Camp and the rules committee. Much of the official rule book in the day adopted Heisman's suggestions word for word, according to the Heisman Trophy's website.

The equivalent of our Heisman is the Area Player of the Year. For football purposes we'll call it our High School Heisman.

I will have a top 5 list every Wednesday with my "High School Heisman Watch". The list of player is in no particular order and you'll note some players will jump in and out depending on their performance.

Without further adieu, The List:

1. Dietrich Riley, St. Francis, RB, Jr.

2. Matt Schilz, Maranatha, QB, Sr.

3. Joey Stewart, Temple City, RB, Sr.

4. Marcus Graves, Muir, WR, Sr.

5. Mitchell Crockom, Alhambra, WR, Jr.

I got this e-mail a few weeks ago:

Fútbol de Primera is pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as part of an elite group of sports journalists to vote for the best player on the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team in 2008.

Created in 1991 by Fútbol de Primera, the Honda Player of the Year Award is now in its 18th year. Voters include print, radio, television and internet journalists from across the nation.

Not bad for a kid who grew up in da hood.

Some background ... I covered high school boys soccer at The Orange County Register for four years.

Eight months later, I started covering Chivas USA and Major League Soccer and went on to also cover numerous soccer tournaments including SuperLiga, the Gold Cup, World Cup qualifiers and international friendlies as the soccer beat reporter.

I was never a soccer fan growing up. But when I started covering high school boys soccer I truly fell in love with the sport and the passion. I really got into soccer because I was promoted to cover pro soccer and I really wanted to kick butt by breaking stories, which I did many times. Covering high school and pro soccer was my beat for a long time before I was promoted to cover the Lakers and Angels.

Come high school soccer season I'll be out on the pitch covering boys and girls soccer, a first for me. St. Francis boys soccer without a doubt is the soccer powerhouse in the San Gabriel Valley along with Damien in La Verne and La Habra, too. But those schools are Tribune and Whittier schools so who cares about them until the playoffs. La Habra plays in Division II so they won't meet the Golden Knights or the Spartans. The Highlanders, however, are the two-time defending champs in Division II

As some of you know, the U.S. Soccer Federation started an academy which I personally think will fail in a few years after players realize they get more exposure playing for their high school teams. I predicted this when the academy was first announced. More on that when the season gets underway.

I've been voting and attending the U.S. Soccer Player of the Year awards banquet and U.S. Soccer symposium the last four years. This year I voted Landon Donovan first, Tim Howard second and Clint Dempsey third, respectively. Dempsey and Donovan both were cool guys to cover. Never met Howard but he seems like a good guy.

Well, enough futbol. Back to football.

High school honorees, rankings and statistics compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

ATHLETES
OF THE WEEK

Dietrich Riley
St. Francis
Football
Junior
Running Back

Favorite hobby: Playing sports
Favorite musical artist: Lil' Wayne
Favorite movie: Friday Night Lights
Favorite athlete: Adrian Peterson
Favorite food: Italian food
Accomplishments: The junior running back rushed for 213 yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the top-ranked Golden Knights to a 27-13 victory over Crescenta Valley last week.

Brittnie Muñoz
Rosemead
Cross Country
Junior
Runner

Favorite hobby: Listening to music
Favorite musical artist: Gwen Stefani
Favorite movie: "Corky Romano"
Favorite athlete: David Beckham
Favorite food: Ice cream
Favorite television show: "Heroes"
Accomplishments: The junior won Arroyo's Fastback Invitational on Sept. 13 and won Rosemead Invitational on Sept. 20 placing second overall among 399 runners with a time of 17:48.

HONOR ROLL

Jarron Williams, Muir: The quarterback completed 11 of 19 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns to lead Muir past Venice, 33-14, last week..

Scott Dooley, San Marino: The running back rushed for 155 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown to lead the Titans past La Salle, 34-16.

Benny Hung, San Marino: The running back rushed for 102 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Joey Stewart, Temple City: The senior running back rushed for 143 yards on 24 carries and had a score in the Rams' 14-10 loss to Alhambra.

Tim Esguerra, Rio Hondo Prep: The running back rushed for 183 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Kares' 28-26 loss to Brentwood.

Antonio Alaniz, Rio Hondo Prep: The running back rushed for 126 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown for the Kares.

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
FOOTBALL

1. St. Francis (2-0)
Burroughs could be a test

2. Muir (2-1)
Enters league with confidence

3. Rosemead (2-0)
Defense could use a tweak

4. Arcadia (1-1)
Heads to Lynwood banged up

5. San Marino (2-0)
Guess who's back? The Titans

6. Temple City (1-1)
Played uncharacteristic Friday

7. Monrovia (1-2)
Wildcats offense getting there

8. San Gabriel (1-2)
Should be easy sail from here

9. Maranatha (3-0)
It gets tougher from here

10. Alhambra (1-1)
Moors need to limit mistakes

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

1. Westridge
Only lost six sets in six matches

2. Flintridge Sacred Heart
Tologs beat La Cañada in four

3. La Cañada
In Royal Tournament Saturday

4. Gabrielino
Impressive 7-3 start

5. Mayfield
It's been a tough start

6. San Gabriel
Hasn't played much yet

7. Arcadia
Beginning Pacific League play

8. La Salle
Things looking up

9. Monrovia
Los to La Salle in four

10. Rio Hondo Prep
Begins season 2-1

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thursday's game
Burroughs at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m.

Friday's games
Hoover at San Marino, 7 p.m.
Temple City at San Gabriel, 7 p.m.
Alhambra at La Canada, 7 p.m.
Arcadia at Lynwood, 7 p.m.
Glendale at South Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Beckman at Monrovia, 7 p.m.
Blair vs. Jefferson at PCC, 7 p.m.
South Hills at Duarte, 7 p.m.
Bosco Tech vs. La Salle at St. Matthias, 7 p.m.
Keppel at Mountain View, 7 p.m.
Village Christian at Gabrielino, 7 p.m.
Rio Hondo Prep at Sage Hill, 7 p.m.
Flintridge Prep vs. Campbell Hall at Occidental College, 7 p.m.

Saturday's game
Marshall at Chadwick, 2 p.m.

So here's my dilemma.

The top four teams in the area are pretty solid and can go without question:

1. St. Francis

2. Muir

3. Rosemead

4. Arcadia

5-10 is a whole other story.

San Marino is probably a lock for the No. 5 spot. They are 2-0 and beat a very good La Salle team despite its record.

So look for the Titans to move up a spot from No. 6, meaning Temple City, who previously held the No. 5 spot, will be moved down, but how far down is the question.

The Rams played uncharacteristic last Friday in a 14-10 loss to Alhambra.

Monrovia, who held the No. 7 spot, lost to a very good Rosemead team in a game that was closer than the score indicated.

San Gabriel, who held the No. 8 spot, played a very very tough Serra team. The Matadors got blown out but the experience was plentiful. San Gabriel saw speed, size and athleticism, something that'll likely go unmatched the rest of the season or even come playoffs.

Maranatha, holding strong at No. 9, routed a team they should have beaten. Things will get a little harder from here on out for the Minutemen so they'll be tested and have to prove their worth in the rankings.

Then there's Alhambra, who held the No. 10 spot ... The Moors had to rally to beat Temple City. If not for the numerous dropped balls by the Rams and silly but costly mistakes by Alhambra this game becomes more exciting and possibly closer than it was.

So who to rank 5-10 is the dilemma.

Star-News preps writer Keith Lair and I will be going head-to-head throughout the season, and I will update our records each Monday on the "Star Picks" thread.

Melendez: Last week: 12-4; Overall: 26-15
Lair: Last week: 11-5; Overall: 28-13

Notes: My wrong picks were Hoover (lost to South Pasadena); Temple City (lost to Alhambra); Keppel (lost to Gabrielino); and Brentwood (lost to Rio Hondo Prep). Lair's wrong picks were Temple City (lost to Alhambra); La Salle (lost to San Marino); Duarte (lost to Pomona); Capistrano Valley (lost to Maranatha); and Gladstone (lost to Bosco Tech). If it wasn't for my horrific Week 0 start, I'd probably be running away with the lead. So for now Lair is two wins up on me. Some of you guys have posted your picks which are great but how about you add up your records while your at and see how you fare through the season.

Tough picks: I might head over to the Burroughs-St. Francis game and just watch. Keith Lair will be covering the game. This could be a close game than most probably expect. San Gabriel I think has more weapons on offense than Temple City. The Matadors can attack you just as good on the ground as they can over the air. Joey Stewart will be one tough assignment for the Matadors. Nice battle of the private schools between Bosco and La Salle. Arcadia-Lynwood should be pretty good if the Apaches are back to 100 percent.

Thursday, Sept. 25
Burroughs at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (St. Francis); Lair (St. Francis)

Friday, Sept. 26
Hoover at San Marino, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Marino); Lair (San Marino)
Temple City at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (Temple City)
Alhambra at La Canada, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Alhambra); Lair (Alhambra)
Arcadia at Lynwood, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Arcadia); Lair (Lynwood)
Glendale at South Pasadena, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Glendale); Lair (Glendale)
Beckman at Monrovia, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Monrovia); Lair (Beckman)
Blair vs. Jefferson at PCC, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Blair); Lair (Jefferson)
South Hills at Duarte, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (South Hills); Lair (South Hills)
Bosco Tech vs. La Salle at St. Matthias, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (La Salle); Lair (La Salle)
Keppel at Mountain View, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Keppel); Lair (Mountain View)
Village Christian at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Gabrielino); Lair (Gabrielino)
Rio Hondo Prep at Sage Hill, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Rio Hondo Prep); Lair (Rio Hondo Prep)
Flintridge Prep vs. Campbell Hall at Occidental College, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Flintridge Prep); Lair (Campbell Hall)

Saturday, Sept. 27
Marshall at Chadwick, 2 p.m. -- Melendez (Chadwick); Lair (Chadwick)

Just got home from the Rose Bowl. I took my sister with me. It was her first UCLA football game.

Other than UCLA's poor effort on offense it went OK.

The Bruins had only 196 total yards in a 31-10 loss to the Wildcats.

Pathetic.

UCLA wasn't really hurt by penalties. They were hurty by Kevin Craft's ineffective passing. The kid played well against Tennessee. I give him credit for that great second half. But he was nonexistent against BYU and again against Arizona. Kraft completed 15 of 31 passes for just 81 yards. Derrick Coleman had a pretty good showing at running back. If the other guys won't step up I say let the freshman play.

UCLA has one of the best offensive coordinators in the nation with Norm Chow. But it's not showing. Patience? I guess. I'm just frustrated that the Bruins will have to take a back seat to USC football yet again this season. At least we scored some points this time, albeit it came on defense after a fumble recovery in the end zone.

The best way my sister can describe both teams is this way:

USC football are the Lakers of college football.

UCLA ... the Clippers.

I was pretty upset UCLA didn't go for it on fourth and 1 on the Arizona 14 (I think) and UCLA let the clock wind down to two seconds before they kicked a field goal. They should have just gone for the first down and tried one play for the end zone. There was plenty of time. That falls on coaching, not the players who've gotten plenty of blame of late. No offensive touchdowns in two straight games?!?!? Ugh!

Next weekend I celebrate my 25th birthday. I was planning on starting my day at the Rose Bowl for the Fresno State game but after today I might just save my time and energy for something more productive.

Above: Vailele Peko, only a sophomore, showed some flashes in Alhambra's 14-10, victory over Temple City on Friday night at Moor Field.

Where to begin.

This was a game Temple City should have come away with a victory. But Alhambra ruined those plans as it initiated a six-play, 64-yard drive that was capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Darrian Cazarin to Daniel Imaa to give the Moors a 14-10 victory over the Rams.

It was Imaa's only catch of the game.

Temple City (1-1) had a chance to make a long drive of their own but on the first play -- with the ball on the Moors 28 -- Temple City quarterback Morgan Hatch was intercepted by Mitchell Crockom to put the game away.

Crockom was at the center of attention of just about every key play. Crockom made an amazing 32-yard completion to put the ball at the Rams 2. Many thought Joey Stewart came away with the interception but it was Crockom who lifted the ball in the air to complete the pass, much to the dismay of the visiting Temple City crowd.

Crockom also made a huge 47-yard catch that highlighted that 64-yard drive. And it was Crockom who came up with the interception that sent the Moors crowd into a frenzy.

I remember telling myself before Crockom made that 47-yard catch: I am not impressed with him at all. At that point, Crockom had made completions of 29, 32, 8, 16, 14, and 2.

Decent night, I thought, but still not impressed given Crockom has enough talent to carry the Moors this season.

Then he made that big catch and of course the interception. I stand corrected.

The Rams passing game suffered big against the Moors, who really weren't doing anything fancy to hinder Temple City's passing game. The key was that a lot of Hatch's passes were dropped.

Stewart had a big night rushing for 143 yards on 24 carries. He made some big plays and was the key player who kept a 16-play drive alive in the second quarter.

Stewart rushed for a 2-yard score on that drive but it was called back after an illegal formation penalty moved the ball back to the Alhambra 7. The Rams couldn't come up with anything at that point except for a safety after the Moors were forced to punt from their end zone.

Temple City took a 10-7 lead after Stewart's score from 4 yards out. Quarterback Morgan Hatch connected with Kenny Werner for the two-point conversion.

The Rams had the lead for 10 minutes before the Moors initiated the rally with 3:04 left in the game and Alhambra sitting on its 36.

What a turn of events. Alhambra coach Gil Ruedaflores and Temple City coach Randy Backus were laughing it up and joking around when they greeted each other at the 50-yard line with 12 minutes before the game started.

When both coaches met again at the 50-yard line to shake hands, Backus' mood was more somber for obvious reasons. Backus was visibly upset and not even Ruedaflores saying "We were lucky to win it" cheered him up.

How could it?

Temple City had this game in the bag. Despite some big yardage plays in the first half, Crockom was kept on check especially in the first half.

"We didn't handle success very well the entire week," Backus said. "We had a poor week for preparation for Alhambra and it was reflected tonight.

"Too many blown assignments and too many missed assignments. Not taking the opportunities that were presented to us to win this game."

Despite the offense getting off to a slow start in the first half, it was a clean game. There were not turnovers and the penalties were minimal, except (ahem) for that illegal formation penalty on the Rams.

Backus didn't want to get into that penalty which he noted was called well into Stewart's rush into the end zone.

"The guy's in the end zone and the flag comes five seconds after the guy's in the end zone, saying we didn't have enough guys in the line of scrimmage," Backus said. "I'm not gonna say anything about the officiating."

The Rams visit San Gabriel next week but Backus is more concerned about his team than he is of the Matadors.

"It's not about San Gabriel," he said. "It's about us getting better. Like I said we had a poor poor week. We were horrible in practice and it reflected in the game."

Ruedaflores had nothing but praise for his young defensive line.

"When you teach adversity and you tell these boys not to look back it's hard because they're young," Ruedaflores said. "It's hard to swallow that (loss last week) but they fought through it, and they came back and I'm proud of them."

Vailele Peko provided a great highlight-reel for the Moors after he returned a punt 42 yards and into the Rams 28 but the ball was moved way back after Alhambra was called for a holding penalty.

Those are the little things the Moors need to overcome if they are to contend for the Almont League title.

They can't have those kinds of little mistakes that negates long plays like the one Peko had in the fourth quarter.

That play got the home crowd fired up but the penalty knocked the wind out of the momentum.

But Crockom went on to make a big play followed by Imaa's touchdown reception from 17 yards out.

The holding penalty at that point became a long forgotten footnote.

Above: Joey Stewart carried Temple City almost the entire game.

If you attended a Friday night game send us your thoughts. Who did you see and what'd you think of the teams you saw?

Here are Friday's scores with my thoughts

Alhambra 14, Temple City 10 -- The Moors make late rally for the win. Backus isn't so happy for obvious reasons. The passing game just wasn't there for the Rams on Friday night.

Long Beach Jordan 36, Pasadena 0 -- Who'd a thought the Bulldogs would enter Pacific League play depleted at 0-4? Kevin Mills lost some key players from last year's team but with the kind of depth he's got a 36-0 loss is almost unbelievable.

Glendale 36, La Canada 21 -- This is not the Glendale team of the past. This could be a much longer season than I thought for the Spartans.

San Marino 31, La Salle 16 -- Remember the Titans? They're baaaAAAAAaaaaack!!!!

St. Francis 27, Crescenta Valley 13 -- I really wanna go see my No. 1 team.

Muir 33, Venice 14 -- As I predict, Mustangs go. Oh wait...D-Ranch. Muir is 2-1 heading into league. That's a great start on my books. Interesting to read that Reuben Thomas played just receiver. TWO GOOD QBS???? Nice.

Rosemead 42, Monrovia 21 -- Who knew the Wildcats would be rebuilding this season? The Panthers have a pretty good offense. I really wanna go see them against Temple City in two weeks. But then again ....

Gabrielino 28, Keppel 0 -- Eagles finally put up some points. Aztecs will be hurting by season's end.

Serra 53, San Gabriel 0 -- I saw this coming.

Maranatha 45, Capo Valley Christian 0 -- I saw this coming, too.

Bosco Tech 20, Gladstone 0 -- This will boost the Tigers' morale fo sho, right Shockley?

Brentwood 28, Rio Hondo Prep 26 -- Ouch! Tough one. If there ever was a moral victory, it is this one. Two-point loss against a tough Brentwood team is not bad at all.

Villanova Prep 32, Flintridge Prep 6 -- Rebels having a hard time getting their offense going.

Click here for all the area's games including Tribune and Whittier areas.

Saturday's Game

Marshall at Pasadena Poly, 2 p.m. -- Melendez (Pasadena Poly); Lair (Pasadena Poly)

Above: South Pasadena's Ricky Venegas fights for yardage during the game against Hoover at Glendale. South Pas won, 29-14.(Larry Goren/Correspondent)

South Pasadena had the spotlight all to itself Thursday night as the Tigers defeated Hoover, 29-14.

From what I've read, Hoover practically handed South Pasadena the game. Not to say the Tigers didn't fight hard because they certainly deserved to win.

South Pasadena (1-1) did not score all their points off the miscues, but they certainly helped. One, a bouncing snap by Hoover long-snapper Alan Palafox, rolled out of the end zone to break a 14-14 tie.

"We were calm," South Pasadena coach Ed Smith said of his halftime speech. "We didn't yell at them. We just said, `Hey, look, this is what we got to do.' We should have made some plays in the first half, but one or two guys broke down a little bit. I told them to go out there, have fun and play football. Take care of your job and have fun."

The Tigers, who had only 18 yards rushing in the first half, marched down the field on their first series of the second half. Kevin Lee, who finished with 104 yards on 23 carries, had the bulk of the yardage. Quarterback Conor Bednarski hit Steven Colliau, who had seven catches for 68 yards and two scores, in the back of the end zone on a 26-yarder to tie the game.

Click here to read the entire story by staff writer Keith Lair.

*I searched and searched but to no avail. Last night in the sports segment on KNBC-4 there was video from the South Pas-Hoover game.

After getting a headache browsing through the KNBC site I decided to stop. But I tried.

=======

I don't know how I missed the Duarte-Pomona game. I thought it was being played on Friday night. That is so my bad.

Our Nathan Cambridge reports:

Pomona High School's Siddiq Frazier scored four rushing touchdowns to lead the Red Devils to a 34-12 nonleague victory over host Duarte on Thursday night.

The Falcons (0-3) got on the board in the final quarter. Two Duarte sophomore quarterbacks each threw a touchdown pass.

The first was by starter Demetrius Jackson on a 53-yard screen pass. Jackson finished 5-for-15 for 64 yards, one interception and one touchdown. The second touchdown was thrown by Tyler Hayes in the game's final minute.

*It's going to be a long season for Duarte. The Falcons are having a hard time putting up points and they're having to do it mostly without its star running back, Jordan Canada.

In case you guys missed it here it is. Thanks for the nice comments in other posts.

===========================

Hatch, Corona mesh personalities to Temple City's benefit

By Miguel A. Melendez
Staff Writer

TEMPLE CITY - During practice and Friday nights under the lights, after every victory and defeat, it's amazing how the boisterous Temple City High School football crowd probably can't tell the dissimilarities within the team.

They see 11 players on the field wearing the Rams green and gold coming together as a team with one common goal: Victory.

But there are players who are so different, their views and likes so extreme they likely wouldn't be friends or, even less, acquaintances if not for football.

Take seniors Morgan Hatch and Nick Conora.

Hatch is the signal-caller directing the offense and dissecting the defense's every move.

Conora is an unassuming presence at linebacker but a brutal force anchoring the defense with immense knowledge, respect and love for the game.

Together they are the perfect 1-2 punch on each side of the line of scrimmage. That much was evident after Hatch led Temple City (1-0) to a 34-0 victory over Arroyo last week to open the season.

Hatch completed 10 of 14 passes for 190 yards and four touchdowns.

There's no question both can co-exist. That much was evident minutes before the clock expired.

"One thing that really opened my eyes about how different we are and yet how much we respect each other was last week when with two minutes left (Conora) came over and talked to me saying great job," Hatch said. "(Conora) said, `I'm loving that offense. I'm the captain of the `D', you're the captain of the `O'. Just keep running that offense and I'll take care of my defense'.

"That was like, dang, because we don't really talk that much or hang out that much but we speak the same football language."

Above: Temple City and Alhambra square off at Moor Field on Friday night at 7.

If you're Temple City (1-0) what team poses a bigger threat: a team that heads into the game also 1-0, riding with confidence, or a team that is 0-1 and has a sense of urgency and desperation in hopes of not looking from the bottom up?

That's the question I posed Rams coach Randy Backus and he had some interesting stuff to say. More on that in Friday's paper on page 2.

Every time I talk to Alhambra coach Gil Ruedaflores he mentions another coach either coached as a player or has had on his staff.

Backus at one point was an assistant under Ruedaflores. I think Backus left Alhambra in 2000.

Back to the game ... One thing that worries Backus he said was Alhambra's ability to score quickly like the Moors did in the fourth quarter against Glendale last week. Alhambra scored three touchdowns and were led by sophomore Vailele Peko who caught three of those passes for touchdowns in the 44-28 loss.

Despite the 34-0 rout over Arroyo last week, Backus said he thought there were area for the Rams to improve such as blown assignments, not picking up blitzes; little things like not having 11 guys on a punt.

Darrian Cazarin, the junior quarterback for the Moors, completed 18 of 33 passes for 300 yards and had four touchdowns. He threw three interceptions and two of them were returned for touchdowns.

"We turned the ball over too many times," Ruedaflores said. "You can't give another team 30 points, ask UCLA."

Friday's Game of the Week: Temple City vs. Alhambra at Moor Field

Back by popular demand is the Star-News' Football Scoreboard.

Click here for quarter-by-quarter updates!

Tonight's Game with predictions

South Pasadena vs. Hoover at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Hoover); Lair (South Pasadena)

Arcadia's Todd Golper has a minor crack in his right big toe and the MRI showed it is also sprained.

He'll be able to play again this season but the question is when. The doctor doesn't think Todd will hurt the big toe but it's a matter of how much pain Todd can handle while playing.

There's no doubt Todd will want to play against Lynwood a week from Friday but it's uncertain at this point if the coaches will let him play.

Todd, who is wearing a boot, got e-mails from both UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel and linebackers coach Chuck Bullough and also Neuheisel and DeWayne Walker called Monday to inquire on his status.

At the very minimum Todd might sit out against Glendale and play against the bigger teams like Muir and others.

But then again, we're talking about the same Todd who thought was playing the final three games of the season with a sprained wrist, only to come and find out after X-rays he had actually been playing with a broken wrist.

During the St. Francis game Todd wouldn't take off his shoe at halftime because he thought maybe they would take him out of the game. Turns out he had 21 tackles after game film was reviewed. Todd's the epitome of toughness.

It wouldn't surprise me if Todd tries to run next week and play it by ear. It's gonna be a tough judgment call.

Just got word that the Turkey Tussle (AKA Muir vs. Pasadena) has been pushed back from a Saturday afternoon game on Nov. 15 to Friday night, Nov. 14. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.

The schools got word today from CIF they cannot play on the 15th because all football games must be played by the 14th. CIF uses the weekend to crank out the CIF playoffs bracket.

So leave your sunglasses and sunscreen at home and bring your blankies and hot chocolate.

(UPDATED: Thursday, 2:34 p.m.)

Above: Vinnie Rodriguez, a sophomore running back at Boron High School, died Wednesday due to head injuries suffered in a game played five days earlier. (Los Angeles Times)

By Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

The Boron High football team met Wednesday afternoon and decided to honor Vinnie Rodriguez the best way it knows how: by playing on.

The Bobcats voted unanimously to proceed with Friday's road game against Lake Isabella Kern Valley after the death of Rodriguez, 16, a sophomore running back and safety who succumbed Tuesday night to head injuries suffered last Friday during a game against California School for the Deaf Riverside.

========================================

Vinnie Rodriguez, a sophomore running back and safety at Boron High, died Tuesday night at Loma Linda Medical Center from head injuries suffered last Friday during the Bobcats' game against Riverside California School for the Deaf, reports Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

Bolch goes on to report:

Rodriguez had been in critical condition and in intensive care since sustaining the injuries while making a tackle. He appeared to stabilize before taking a turn for the worse Tuesday night.

Standing near the tribute Tuesday, senior Laynah Fealy described Rodriguez as "hyper" and "light-hearted," though there was nothing fluffy about his play.

It's a sad day in high school football.

Above: Maranatha quarterback Matt Schilz put on an impressive display in the Minutemens' last two minutes of the game last week against La Salle.

High school honorees, rankings and statistics. Compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Matt Schilz
Maranatha
Football
Senior
Quarterback

Favorite hobby: Video games
Favorite musical artist: Shwayze
Favorite favorite movie: "The Replacements"
Favorite athlete: Tom Brady
Favorite food: Pizza
Accomplishments: The Kansas State-bound senior led a nine-play drive that started at Maranatha's 21 with 2:01 left and the Minutemen trailing, 26-20. Schilz completed passes of 4, 17, 15 and 8 yards before finding an open Terell Cornell from 21 yards to lead the Minutemen over La Salle 27-26 on Friday. Schilz completed 17 of 33 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns.

Caitlyn Ward
Arcadia
Girls tennis
Senior
Singles

Favorite hobby: playing and listening to music
Favorite musical artist: Chris Brown
Favorite movie: "Pirates of the Caribbean"
Favorite athlete: James Blake
Favorite food: Sushi
Accomplishments: The senior, the Apaches' No. 1 singles player, won 6-1, 6-0, 6-0, in a victory over Pasadena Poly last week and won two of three sets Monday to help the Apaches (2-0) edge La Canada 10-8 in a nonleague match.

HONOR ROLL

*Dietrich Riley, St. Francis: The junior rushed for 113 yards on 11 carries, including a 25-yard TD, and had an interception to lead the Golden Knights to a 54-7 victory over Arcadia.

*Marcus Graves, Muir: Caught five passes for 121 yards in a 43-14 loss to Oaks Christian.

*Vailele Peko, Alhambra: The sophomore caught three of the Moors' four touchdown passes in a 44-28 loss to Glendale.

*Marquise Williams, Monrovia: The senior running back helped the Wildcats jump to a quick 7-0 lead after sprinting for a 70-yard touchdown run in Monrovia's 14-6 win over Duarte in the inaugural MD Classic.

*Morgan Hatch, Temple City: The senior quarterback completed 10 of 14 passes for 190 yards and four touchdowns in the Rams' 34-0 win over Arroyo.

*Gianni Bruno-Lopez, Temple City: Caught six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

*Scott Dooley, San Marino: Rushed for 148 yards and a TD on 20 carries, including 117 in the first half, to lead the Titans past Gabrielino, 21-0.

*Justin Sciarra, St. Francis: Completed 7 of 9 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
FOOTBALL

1. St. Francis (1-0)
Golden Knights are real deal

2. Muir (1-1)
Mustangs should be applauded

3. Rosemead (1-0)
Panthers quite a strong force

4. Arcadia (1-1)
Apaches thankful for bye

5. Temple City (1-0)
Impressive shutout to start

6. San Marino (1-0)
Titans of the past returning?

7. Monrovia (1-1)
Wildcats offense staggering

8. San Gabriel (1-1)
Serra will be no walk in park

9. Maranatha (2-0)
They keep finding ways to win

10. Alhambra (0-1)
Offense can't start late again

Thursday's Game

South Pasadena vs. Hoover at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Hoover); Lair (South Pasadena)

Friday's Games

Temple City at Alhambra, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Temple City); Lair (Temple City)
Long Beach Jordan at Pasadena, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (LB Jordan); Lair (Jordan)
Glendale at La Canada, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Glendale); Lair (Glendale)
San Marino at La Salle, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Marino); Lair (La Salle)
St. Francis at Crescenta Valley, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (St. Francis); Lair (St. Francis)
Muir at Venice, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Muir); Lair (Muir)
Monrovia at Rosemead, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Rosemead); Lair (Rosemead)
Pomona at Duarte, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Pomona); Lair (Duarte)
Keppel at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. Melendez (Keppel); Lair (Gabrielino)
Serra at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Serra); Lair (Serra)
Capistrano Valley Christian at Maranatha, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Capo Valley)
Bosco Tech vs. Gladstone at St. Matthias, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Bosco Tech); Lair (Gladstone)
Rio Hondo Prep at Brentwood, 4 p.m. -- Melendez (Rio Hondo Prep); Lair (Brentwood)
Flintridge Prep vs. Villanova Prep at Occidental, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Villanova); Lair (Villanova)

Saturday's Game

Marshall at Pasadena Poly, 2 p.m. -- Melendez (Pasadena Poly); Lair (Pasadena Poly)

Above: Susan Carlson (No. 23) will be a central figure on a Mayfield High School volleyball team that is ranked No. 1 by the Star-News heading into the 2008 season.

No. 1 Mayfield sets sight on another CIF Divisional title

By Keith Lair
Staff Writer

It almost does not pay to be successful. Look at the West San Gabriel Valley area volleyball teams.

Mayfield High School won a CIF-Southern Section Division IV-AA championship. Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy was runner-up in Division I-A. Pasadena won Division II-A two years ago.

But it's more than winning titles. Three of the four Prep League teams reached the division semifinals, including Westridge. Flintridge Sacred Heart played Mission League foe Harvard-Westlake for the title. In the Pacific League, champion Burroughs reached the quarterfinals.

As a result, all have moved up one division. The Prep League has moved into Division III-A; the Mission League into I-AA, the top division in the CIF-SS, and the Pacific League has been bumped up to II-AA.

That sends the Prep League into a division with the likes of the tougher Almont and Ocean leagues, Flintridge Sacred Heart into the lions of the beach schools, including CIF state power Mira Costa, Redondo, Newport Harbor, Long Beach Wilson and Los Alamitos, and the Pacific League against Corona del Mar, North and South Torrance and Bishop Montgomery and Inland Valley powers Redlands East Valley and Riverside Poly.

"We'll probably have a pretty good record at the end of the year and go to CIF," Flintridge Sacred Heart coach Shelli Orlandini said. "But for us to make the finals would be a miracle, I think. Even the semifinals is asking for a lot. I just don't understand it."

A look at the area's top 10 teams:

Above: Maranatha football fans have something to cheer for.

There were a few shakeups...La Salle (0-2) gets dropped though they do trail right behind Alhambra who can drop if it loses badly to Temple City. However, I don't think the Alhambra-TC game will be a blowout. Rosemead moves up one spot to No. 3 while Arcadia drops to one spot at No. 4, respectively. Temple City and San Marino make significant jumps to No. 5 and 6 from 8 and 9, respectively. San Gabriel moved from No. 10 to No. 8, the Moors dropped to No. 10 from 7 and Maranatha makes its debut in the top 10 at No. 9 after an impressive string of victories. The top 10 rankings will run in the paper on Wednesday along with the Prep Scene which includes athletes of the week and the honor roll.

So which game is this week's Game of the Week? Cast your vote below.....

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
FOOTBALL

1. St. Francis (1-0)
Golden Knights are real deal

2. Muir (1-1)
Mustangs should be applauded

3. Rosemead (1-0)
Panthers quite a strong force

4. Arcadia (1-1)
Apaches thankful for bye

5. Temple City (1-0)
Impressive shutout to start

6. San Marino (1-0)
Titans of the past returning?

7. Monrovia (1-1)
Wildcats offense staggering

8. San Gabriel (1-1)
Serra will be no walk in park

9. Maranatha (2-0)
They keep finding ways to win

10. Alhambra (0-1)
Offense can't start late again

Sorry it took so long to post a thread today. Our server in Pasadena has been down all morning and it still is. Star-News staffers migrated to West Covina for the day and I sit in Fred Robledo's desk for the day; he's golfing somewhere in Vegas/Utah right now. Must be nice.

As you know, Star-News preps writer Keith Lair and I will be going head-to-head throughout the season, and I will update our records each Monday on the "Star Picks" thread.

Melendez: Last week 11-4, Overall 14-11
Lair: Last week 12-3, Overall 17-8

My bold prediction this week? Keppel breaks its 29-game losing streak on Friday at Gabrielino. I'm just going with my gut feeling. Guess the Gabrielino hype was just that, hype. Keith's three wrong picks were Mojave (lost to Rio Hondo Prep), Alhambra (lost to Glendale) and Arroyo (lost to Temple City). My four wrong picks were Alhambra, Gabrielino, Arcadia (lost to St. Francis) and Campbell Hall (lost to Pasadena Poly).

Thursday's Game

South Pasadena at Hoover, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Hoover); Lair (South Pasadena)

Friday's Games

Temple City at Alhambra, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Temple City); Lair (Temple City)
Long Beach Jordan at Pasadena, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (LB Jordan); Lair (Jordan)
Glendale at La Canada, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Glendale); Lair (Glendale)
San Marino at La Salle, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Marino); Lair (La Salle)
St. Francis at Crescenta Valley, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (St. Francis); Lair (St. Francis)
Muir at Venice, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Muir); Lair (Muir)
Monrovia at Rosemead, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Rosemead); Lair (Rosemead)
Pomona at Duarte, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Pomona); Lair (Duarte)
Keppel at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. Melendez (Keppel); Lair (Gabrielino)
Serra at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Serra); Lair (Serra)
Capistrano Valley Christian at Maranatha, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Capo Valley)
Bosco Tech vs. Gladstone at St. Matthias, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Bosco Tech); Lair (Gladstone)
Rio Hondo Prep at Brentwood, 4 p.m. -- Melendez (Rio Hondo Prep); Lair (Brentwood)
Flintridge Prep vs. Villanova Prep at Occidental, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Villanova); Lair (Villanova)

Saturday's Game

Marshall at Pasadena Poly, 2 p.m. -- Melendez (Pasadena Poly); Lair (Pasadena Poly)

(UPDATED AT 12:51 A.M.)

What an amazing game. What an amazing drive. What an amazing performance by Maranatha's Matt Schilz.

The game against La Salle wasn't the shootout I thought it would be but WHAT A GAME it turned out to be!!!!!

When Maranatha fans look back on that night, they'll remember Maranatha's final drive simply as "The Comeback".

Schilz led an improbable nine-play drive that started on Maranatha High School's 21-yard line with 2:01 left.

That was all the time the Minutemen needed to march 81 yards for the winning touchdown -- a 21-yard pass from Schilz to Terell Cornell with 14 seconds remaining that sent Maranatha (2-0) to a 27-26 victory over La Salle on Friday night at Maranatha High.

Schilz, headed to Kansas State next season, was sacked on first and 10 at the Minutemen (2-0) 21.

On the next play, the Lancers (0-2) were called for pass interference to move the ball to the 36 with 1:44 remaining.

That's when Schilz led the frantic attack, completing passes of 4 (Daniel Kopplin), 17 (Cornell), 15 (Danny Beckwith) and 8 (Josh Jones) yards before finding Cornell in the end zone.

La Salle's last chance came on second and 10 at its own 41, but Chase Rettig overthrew his final pass into the end zone as time expired, prompting the Maranatha home crowd to rush the field.

The nine-play, 81 yard drive shouldn't have happened to begin with. The Lancers were hurt by penalties the entire night but the pass interference that moved the ball to the 36 was the one that hurt most.

Rettig, a junior, completed 22 of 48 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception. Kishon Sanders caught nine passes for 65 yards including a 3 yard score with 11:55 in the third quarter.

Here are some of La Salle Coach Antoine Peterson quotes that didn't make the paper.

"I think we grew up tonight," Peterson said. "We have to learn how to finish a ball game."

Peterson's thoughts on his defense and on Schilz.

"Defensively we stood up tall but just let one play away. That quarterback is a tough son of a gun. He hung in there, made the throw and the kid caught it in the end zone."

Peterson on his assessment of the Lancers overall.

"We couldn't get a rhythm. We couldn't execute offensively. Defense stepped up but we let this team hang around when we should have taken care of business."

Maranatha coach Joel Murphy quotes.

"I don't know what to say. Every point mattered. Every play mattered. It was nice to see again Matt's character because he knew he made two horrible mistakes. It took everything we had tonight; from the coach's stand point and players stand point."

Murphy on Schilz getting intercepted by Daniel Carlos who returned it for a 17 yard score.

"I don't know if that would have changed his resolve to come back. I'll take it. Hindsight is gonna be 20/20 but I like that I have one more point."

Murphy on Maranatha's inability to get the offense going in the first half.

"That's something we're gonna have to remedy real quick. Because we can't do that against these kinds of teams; we're not gonna be able to pull that out. "

During the game both Schilz and Rettig were making some pretty crazy long throws, many of which were dropped or overthrown. I think they were trying to put on a show but it made for some pretty bad football in the first half.

Rettig then opted to go with the shuffle pass in the second half, though he did connect for a couple long passes, while Schilz mostly kept throwing long-range passes that finally started getting caught.

Tony France caught five passes for 70 yards for the Lancers; Michael Alexander caught three passes including a 43-yard touchdown pass from Rettig.

Marcus Wells rushed for 74 yards on nine carries.

On the defensive front, Trent Washington and Mark Jebbia each recorded a sack for Maranatha and Nick Kennedy and Austin Hall had one, too, for La Salle.

Cornell intercepted Rettig once and Schilz was intercepted by Matt Housman, Nathaniel Ziomek and Matthew Payne.

Kudos to Maranatha's Jake Forrester who is owed some lunch, dinner and dessert from the rest of his Minutemen teammates. Forrester was clutch in a few PATs but none more important than his final kick after Cornell's winning TD catch with seconds remaining.

For a brief moment there was silence as Forrester took his position. The crowd erupted after he once again came through.

As MuddyWaters noted on a thread below. There was an odd moment in the game when the referees had to stop the game several times to correct the time keeper.

Above: La Salle's Tony France played impressive. He was everywhere on defense and caught five passes for 70 yards, 44 yards being his longest.

Click here for all the games scores including schools from the Tribune and Whittier area.

Friday's Game of the Week: Maranatha 27, La Salle 26

Friday's Video Highlight Game of the Week: Monrovia 14, Duarte 6 (Be sure to check back Saturday morning for the highlights)

Glendale 44, Alhambra 7 -- OK, what the heck happened here?
St. Francis 54, Arcadia 7 -- Golden Knights proved they're just much more athletic.
West Covina 53, Blair 0 -- I really thought the Vikings would at least put up a fight.
Monrovia 14, Duarte 6 -- No Jordan Canada, no victory.
Workman 42, Keppel 12 -- The Aztecs just can't catch a break.
Maranatha 27, La Salle 26 -- Matt Schilz was unbelievable the last two minutes.
Azusa 42, Marshall 0 -- Rough start for Rickey Pickens and the Eagles.
Oaks Christian 43, Muir 14 -- Mustangs will benefit from in the long run. Count on that.
Saugus 30, Pasadena 6 -- Is the ship sinking? Na, Saugus is just that good.
Pasadena Poly 28, Campbell Hall 21 -- Close but a win is a win.
Rio Hondo Prep 34, Mojave 0 -- The Kares are rockin' n rollin'
San Marino 21, Gabrielino 0 -- So much for the Gabrielino hype.
Temple City 34, Arroyo 0 -- Nice start for Backus & Co.

Saturday's Games with predictions

Bishop Montgomery at Bosco Tech, 1:30 p.m. -- Melendez (BMontgomery); Lair (BMontgomery)
Flintridge Prep at St. Genevieve, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Flintridge Prep); Lair (St. Genevieve)

Again,

OH.

MY.

GOD.

It's funny because people who REALLY know me know that the reporter in me (and the unbiased fan in me as well) would have known UCLA was going to have a hard time against a potent BYU offense. The reporter in me would also know that this USC team is arguably Pete Carroll's team ever. I would have liked to see the Pac-10 fare better on Saturday.

OH.

MY.

GOD.

c'mon, I know yalll thought UCLA had NO chance but still, 59-0?!?!?!

Above: Isaac Valdez threw four touchdown passes in the first half and completed 9 of 15 passes for 224 yards to lead the Matadors over South Pas, 55-14, on Thursday night.

So yeah, San Gabriel routed South Pasadena. But the Matadors had one too many mistakes.

As our very own Keith Lair reported, the Matadors committed 13 penalties for 145 yards. There is NO WAY San Gabriel is going to win like that when they face a much more experienced and disciplined Serra team next week.

It might be a long season for Ed Smith and the Tigers. They trailed 33-0 midway through the second quarter, but give them credit for fighting like the game was scoreless.

Despite trailing 40-0, the Tigers took the second-half kickoff and marched 61 yards in 14 plays. They were stranded on the San Gabriel 11. Sophomore quarterback Conor Bednarsky completed 14 of 28 passes for 148 yards. Not bad for the newbie.

San Gabriel needed just 15 plays to take a 19-0 lead, something they were nowhere near doing against Cathedral in last week's season-opening loss.

Coach Keith Jones told Lair:

"What happened was that we were doing well from the 20 to 20, but we were just not converting," Jones said of last week's game. "We needed to convert inside the 20 and we did that."

Yeah, the Matadors did that but clearly South Pas is not on San Gabriels' level and certainly don't compare to Cathedral.

Serra is a team that can capitalize on San Gabriel's miscues. Thirteen penalties? Serra will pounce on that.

On the bright side, the Matadors showed they can put points on the board. Arthur Brown ran for a 52-yard score, Marcos Villalobos caught four passes for 86 yards and returned an interception 65 yards for the score.

This will be a rebuilding season for the Tigers but some bright spots should be noted.

After Villalobos' interception return to make it 47-0, the Tigers ran off 13 plays in a 77-yard drive, Bednarski scoring on a sneak.

Enter backup quarterback Howard Serrian who later completed a 17-yard pass to Nicholas Owens to set up a rollout run for a 3-yard score with 2 seconds to play.

The following is why I say South Pasadena coach Ed Smith is a players' coach.

"I was encouraged by the second half," Smith said. "I know we got blitzed in the first half, but we scored a couple of touchdowns and that was a victory for the boys."

Hats off to you, Coach.

**
La Cañada lost its season-opener at the hands of Crescenta Valley, 39-7.

Crescenta Valley had too much on defense. They stopped the 10 Spartans rushing attempts for negative yards. My oh my.

The Spartans scored on the final play of the game to deny the Falcons the shutout

La Cañada used three quarterbacks who went a combined 3-for-9 for 52 yards.

"It's a game we can build on, that's all we can say," La Cañada coach Rich Wheeler told Star-News correspondent Nathan Cambridge.

Karsen Reedy made his first start at quarterback for the Falcons and finished 12 of 25 for 240 yards. Mike Bako led all receivers with 154 yards on eight catches. Harrison Pessy had 11 carries for 83 yards.

To La Cañada's defense, Crescenta Valley is loaded this season and will be a big surprise in the Pacific League. Good enough to beat Arcadia and challenge Muir?

Perhaps.

Seriously though. I went jogging when I got home from work (around 7 p.m.) and just before I completed a lap at the park my back started killing me. My shins for some reason tightened up, too.

So I've been up and while skimming through the channels I watched Jessica Simpson on "Late Show with David Letterman".

She's ditzy but isn't she very cute?

What made me laugh was when she said, "Yeah, he's (Romo) been throwing the pigskin really good."

The crowd laughed, prompting Letterman to go back and ask, "What did you say?"

Cowboys fans last year blamed Jessica for some losses. Yeah, because Jessica is on the field making passes, dropping passes, missing blocks or routes. I don't have an NFL team but maybe I'll root for my bro's favorite team. And Jessica's, too.

I've had a few friends tell me it'll be Cowboys-Chargers in the Super Bowl. Not sure about that after San Diego allowed that long drive and a touchdown with 2 seconds left on the clock.

Raiders vs. USC? Who cares about the RAID-AARRRRSSS?!?!

Serena Williams was on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien".

Last week she celebrated a straight-set victory over Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 7-5. Jelena had no chance yet at the same time wasted so many. Serena proved to be too much; her overhead volleys were no match for Jelena who was overmatched in the second set which was not as close as the final set indicates.

Didn't get to see much of Serena on Conan but they did show the various tennis outfits Serena has worn during her career. Nice.

I like Serena. Never met her but she seems pretty cool and is a great athlete. This was her third U.S. Open title and ninth Grand Slam singles title.

Not too shaby for coming out of da hood: straight outta Compton, a city where our family attended church for about six years on Rosecrans and Harris.

In case you're not in the "in" crowd let me fill you in. Kanye West was arrested Thursday after a confrontation with the pappers (that's paparazzi, folks) at LAX.

Kanye is one of my favorite rappers. Not exactly sure why he lost his cool but Kanye is a good guy, at least to me he was one time.

I covered the Lakers-Cavaliers game earlier this year and I saw Kanye there. He attends a lot of Lakers game, but at this particular game he was there to watch his bud LeBron James. Kanye sat opposite of the Cavaliers bench. I sat in the press row opposite the Lakers bench. I was literally five steps away from Kanye.

During halftime most reporters take their laptops, media guides and stack of stat sheets back to the Chick Hearn Press Room and write in a quiet room and/or refill on soda and popcorn.

Anyway, on my way back to the press room I nearly dropped my laptop while trying to open the door. But before I knew it someone opened the door for me (no thanks to the Red Coats).

It was none other than Kanye West who was headed to the VIP Room which is just past the press room.

I simply said, "Oh thanks" and he replied, "No problem man." That was obviously a pretty cool day for me. Kanye traveled with a small posse; it was him +2.

As I'm flipping channels there's a "Homecoming" special on MTV where Kanye surprises military veterans with a visit to their home and offers financial assistance and the whole VIP experience to one of his concerts.

Watching that and Kanye plastered all over TMZ reminded me about the day helped open the door for me at Staples Center.

Tribune preps sports editor Fred J. Robledo, the man we call "Freddy", is reporting on his blog that Duarte High School's super junior running back Jordan Canada will not play in Friday's inaugural MD Classic against Monrovia.

Falcons coach Wardell Crutchfield said he aggravated a groin strain in last week's loss to Ayala.

If you remember, Canada scored on a 97-yard kickoff return in the Falcons' 33-12 loss to Ayala.

I know from talking to Crutchfield last week he expected a big season from Canada who has endured an injury-plagued sophomore season.

Above: Chase Rettig is ready to lead La Salle against Maranatha on Friday.

Week 1 descends upon us and getting the nudge for "Game of the Week" is the highly-anticipated La Salle-Maranatha game that'll pit two of the best quarterbacks in the area.

There is a lot of intrigue for a few reasons, the obvious being two top quarterbacks on display. But this is a matchup that has been building up over the years. The Lancers and Minutement have not played each other since 1997. Think of Maranatha as the long lost son, bouncing from campus to campus throughout Pasadena. The Minutemen now are proud to call their campus on St. John their home. The campus is beautiful and the field is breathtaking.

Sure, La Salle lost last week but that was a very close game. Rettig completed 18 of 37 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns in the Lancers' tough, 21-18, loss to Village Christian.

"I just hope we finish with one more point than them at the end of the game," joked Maranatha coach Joel Murphy.

And if you haven't gotten a clue yet, I'm covering this game.

Contrary to popular belief, I've never been a fan of covering a football team back-to-back, which is why I'm not going to St. Francis, though the matchup is intriguing as well. Besides that, it's a 7:30 p.m. start and there is more to my job than just covering a game. I need to get back to the office to knock out my story, update the scores/blog and make sure all our correspondents get their stuff in by deadline. With a full slate of games scheduled, Friday night will be the whole dog and pony show, meaning I'm better off covering a 7 p.m. game rather than 7:30 p.m.

Game of the Week B : Arcadia at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m.

Golper vs. Riley? C'mon! I heard through the grapevine that the Golden Knights are going to have three guys on Golper when he's running the ball and they'll try to isolate him at linebacker. St. Francis is going to make the rest of the Apaches beat them so this is a game Garrett Tuck, Brian Rambeu and others will have to step up and help carry some of the load off of Golper.

Game of the Week C: Oaks Christian at Muir, 7 p.m.

I know I predicted Muir to lose last week against Diamond Ranch. I didn't think they had it in them and there was all this talk about this Spirlin kid at D-Ranch. The Mustangs proved me wrong, but I don't think they can do it again, not against a very talented Oaks Christian team. For the record, I doubt Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky and Will Smith will make the trip to da hood. Where would they park their Bentleys? But seriously, Oaks Christian will prove to be too much and they'll run away with this game. Sorry, Stang Fan.

So this is what it came down to:

Arcadia at St. Francis? - Great game, nice matchups but a 7:30 start would put me behind.

Oaks Christian at Muir? - I hear what you're saying loud and clear. But it's more likely that Oaks Christian will hand it to the Mustangs. Sure, there's also the potential of an upset but I'm going with what's more likely ...

... and it's more likely the La Salle at Maranatha game will be closer since they're evenly matched and will put on display two great quarterbacks.

Coming in Friday's newspaper: a feature on St. Francis' linemen and a tradition that started four years ago.

Friday's Game of the Week: La Salle at Maranatha

Friday's Video Highlight Game of the Week: Duarte at Monrovia (Be sure to check back Saturday morning for the highlights)

Thursday Night Live (7 p.m.): Northview vs. Los Altos at Covina District Field. Be sure to visit our Web site at 7 p.m. tonight to watch the action.

Back by popular demand is the Star-News' Football Scoreboard.

Click here for quarter-by-quarter updates!

Tonight's Games

South Pasadena at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (San Gabriel)
La Canada vs. Crescenta Valley at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (C. Valley); Lair (C. Valley)

Above: The World Trade Center site in New York is shown on the seventh anniversary of the attacks. (Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

There will be chills sent up the spine of many when marching bands today play the National Anthem before the start of a football game.

On this seventh anniversary since the Sept. 11 attacks, people will look back and think about where they were when the horrific attacks happened.

At the time I was a student at Pasadena City College and had just started journalism. During my bus ride from Alhambra to Pasadena the entire bus was quiet, and when people did talk they whispered.

The first press conference I attended was in Los Angeles and speaking was LAPD Chief William J. Bratton. There was a chilling effect; reporters tried to keep their emotions in check. I couldn't believe how poise they were despite the circumstances.

I would hope the schools tonight and on Friday night before the start of the game take some time to hold a moment of silence in memoriam of those who lost their lives.

I always get chills when I hear the National Anthem. It will be no different come Friday night.

Above: Maranatha is holding strong to its No. 2 ranking in the East Valley Division. The Minutemen play host to La Salle on Friday.

Muir moved from No. 7 to No. 3 in the Southeast Division while Alhambra dropped out from its previous No. 9 spot. For whatever reason, CIF voters showed no love to Arcadia, receiving only consideration. Temple City stayed at No. 4 in the Mid-Valley Division while Monrovia dropped a few spots to No. 7. Duarte and Rosemead dropped out of the poll. Maranatha in the East Valley Division is holding strong to its No. 2 spot. St. Paul is still ranked No. 6 in the Western Division despite last week's blowout by Servite. But the again, it was against Servite. St. Francis in that division again received only consideration. La Salle completely dropped out of the Northwest Division after entering the season at No. 10, respectively.

PAC-5 DIVISION

1. Long Beach Poly, 2. Orange Lutheran, 3. Mater Dei, 4. Crespi, 5. Edison, 6. Mission Viejo, 7. Servite, 8. Los Alamitos, 9. Esperanza, 10. Notre Dame.
Others receiving votes: St. John Bosco, Fountain Valley, Dana Hills, Loyola, Long Beach Wilson, Compton, San Clemente, Tesoro, Lakewood, Newport Harbor.

CENTRAL DIVISION (V)

1. Upland, 2. Colton, 3. Los Osos, 4. Chaffey, 5. West Valley, 6. Ayala, 7. Paloma Valley, 8. Colony, 9. Arroyo Valley, 10. Cajon. Others receiving votes: Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont, Alta Loma, Glendora, Hemet, Etiwanda, Chino Hills, Damien.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION (VII)

1. South Hills, 2. Charter Oak, 3. Muir, 4. Schurr, 5. Santa Fe, 6. West Covina, 7. California, 8. Rowland, 9. Burbank, 10. Diamond Ranch. Others: Bonita, Arcadia, Burroughs, Alhambra, Los Altos.

MID-VALLEY DIVISION (XI)

1. San Dimas, 2. South El Monte, 3. Paraclete, 4. Temple City, 5. Northview, 6. Whittier Christian, 7. Monrovia, 8. Azusa, 9. Cerritos Valley Christian, 10. Los Angeles Baptist. Others: Village Christian, Workman, Pomona, Gabrielino, San Marino, Rosemead, La Puente, Duarte, Covina.

EAST VALLEY DIVISION (XII)

1. St. Margaret's, 2. Maranatha, 3. Twentynine Palms, 4. Big Bear, 5. Brentwood, 6. Desert, 7. Aquinas, 8. Ontario Christian, 9. Fillmore, 10. Western Christian. Others: Downey Calvary Chapel, Santa Paula, Sage Hill, Bishop Union, Grace Brethren, Kern Valley.

Click on thread to continue reading polls.

Above: Quarterback Reuben Thomas, AKA Mr. Everything, proved last week he's the real deal.

High school honorees, rankings and statistics. Compiled by Miguel A. Melendez

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Reuben Thomas
Muir
Football
Senior
Quarterback

Favorite hobby: Video games
Favorite movie: "Boss 'N' Up"
Favorite athlete: Devin Hester
Favorite food: Lasagna
Favorite television show: "CSI: Las Vegas"
Accomplishments: Just call him Mr. Everything. In leading Muir last week to a 16-6 victory over Diamond Ranch, Thomas played just about every position and was very effective. He played quarterback, wide receiver, safety, kicker and even returned punts. He threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown and also had a big interception. He threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Mills to score the game's first points and later after scoring from 2yards out, he ran in the two-point conversion.

HONOR ROLL

*Chase Rettig, La Salle: Rettig completed 18 of 37 passes for 237 yards and had two touchdowns in a tough 21-18 loss against Village Christian.

*Frank Sotelo, Bosco Tech: The senior running back rushed for 192 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Tigers' 28-14 victory over Contreras.

*Nick Bueno, Monrovia: The sophomore QB had an impressive varsity debut, completing 10 of 14 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

*Todd Golper, Arcadia: The UCLA-bound linebacker/running back rushed for 100 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Apaches' 41-27 victory over Monrovia.

*Josh Demuske, Pasadena: The senior quarterback completed 9 of 16 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in the Bulldogs' 30-19 loss to Arroyo Valley.

*Jordan Canada, Duarte: In the Falcons' 33-12 loss to Ayala, Canada scored on a 97-yard kickoff return.

*Brian Rambeu, Arcadia: Returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a score to put the Apaches on top early.

*Kishon Sanders, La Salle: Wide receiver had eight receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Village Christian.

*Chris Carino, Monrovia: Wide receiver caught five passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

*Josh Acosta, Gabrielino: The junior tight end caught a 30-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Zuniga with 20 seconds left in the first half to put the Eagles on top, 6-0. Acosta scored another TD on a 10-yard run in the third quarter to lead Gabrielino to a 12-0 upset over a loaded La Puente team.

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
FOOTBALL

1. St. Francis (0-0)
Arcadia should be a good test

2. Muir (1-0)
Impressive win over D-Ranch

3. Arcadia (1-0)
Apaches have balanced attack

4. Rosemead (0-0)
Tough opener against Covina

5. Monrovia (0-1)
Can't afford turnovers

6. La Salle (0-1)
Tough loss to swallow

7. Alhambra (0-0)
Moors should beat Glendale

8. Temple City (0-0)
Backus Season 2 begins

9. San Marino (0-0)
Gabrielino will be tough Friday

10. San Gabriel (0-1)
Defense needs to get in game

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Thursday, Sept. 11

South Pasadena at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (San Gabriel)
La Canada vs. Crescenta Valley at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Crescenta Valley); Lair (Crescenta Valley)

Friday, Sept. 12

Alhambra at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Alhambra); Lair (Alhambra)
Arcadia at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Arcadia); Lair (St. Francis)
Blair at West Covina, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (West Covina); Lair (West Covina)
Duarte at Monrovia, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (MONROVIA); Lair (Monrovia)
Keppel vs. Workman at La Puente, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Workman); Lair (Workman)
La Salle at Maranatha, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Maranatha)
Marshall vs. Azusa at PCC, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Azusa); Lair (Azusa)
Oaks Christian at Muir, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Oaks Christian); Lair (Oaks Christian)
Pasadena vs. Saugus at College of the Canyons, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Saugus); Lair (Saugus)
Pasadena Poly at Campbell Hall, 3:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Campbell Hall); Lair (Pasadena Poly)
Mojave at Rio Hondo Prep, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Rio Hondo Prep); Lair (Mojave)
San Marino at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Gabrielino); Lair (San Marino)
Arroyo at Temple City, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Temple City); Lair (Arroyo)

Saturday, Sept. 13

Bishop Montgomery at Bosco Tech, 1:30 p.m. -- Melendez (BMontgomery); Lair (BMontgomery)
Flintridge Prep at St. Genevieve, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Flintridge Prep); Lair (St. Genevieve)

An open discussion about whoever and whatever you wanna talk about...

And if it's too much for you to handle don't worry, I'll bring in reinforcements.....

Above: Arcadia's defense could pose some problems for the Golden Knights.

Note: The top 10, which will be published in Wednesday's paper along with the Athlete of the Week & the Honor Roll, did not change much. San Gabriel dropped from No. 7 to 10, allowing Alhambra (No. 7), Temple City (No. 8) and San Marino (No. 9) to move up a spot. Despite losses, Monrovia and La Salle stay at No. 5 and 6, respectively. Why? The Wildcats played a surprisingly tough Arcadia team and the Lancers lost by just three points despite an impressive performance by quarterback Chase Rettig. I can already hear it, "Why didn't Muir take the No. 1 spot?!?!" Hold your horses, Muir. That's because I'm not going to penalize St. Francis which has not opened the season yet. Come Week 2 things could look different depending on how Muir fares against Oaks Christian and St. Francis against Arcadia on Friday night.

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS

1. St. Francis (0-0)
Arcadia should be a good test

2. Muir (1-0)
Impressive win over D-Ranch

3. Arcadia (1-0)
Apaches have balanced attack

4. Rosemead (0-0)
Tough opener against Covina

5. Monrovia (0-1)
Can't afford turnovers

6. La Salle (0-1)
Tough loss to swallow

7. Alhambra (0-0)
Moors should beat Glendale

8. Temple City (0-0)
Backus Season 2 begins

9. San Marino (0-0)
Gabrielino will be tough Friday

10. San Gabriel (0-1)
Defense needs to get in game

From The Associated Press
1:01 PM PDT, September 8, 2008

Tom Brady will miss the entire NFL season with a left knee injury that will require surgery, leaving the New England Patriots without one of the game's great quarterbacks, their Super Bowl hopes severely damaged.

The 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player will be placed on injured reserve, the Patriots said today, one day after his knee was injured in the first quarter of a 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

A statement issued before coach Bill Belichick's news conference said Brady will have surgery, ending his 128-game starting streak, the third longest for a quarterback.

Brady left Sunday's game against Kansas City after he was hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. Brady was not available for comment, but reports circulated around the league that he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament.

"We feel badly for Tom about the injury," Belichick said while not confirming the exact injury. "You hate to see anyone go down. No one has worked harder or done more for this team than Tom has."

Matt Cassel, who guided New England to its 20th straight regular-season win after Brady was hurt, will start Sunday at the New York Jets.

Star-News preps writer Keith Lair and I will be going head-to-head throughout the season, and I will update our records each Monday on the "Star Picks" thread.

Melendez: Last week (3-7)
Lair: Last week (5-5)

I went a laughable 3-7 last week and Lair managed to break even. We have a full slate of games with Week 1 on Friday and since most teams played in Week 0 there's a better feeling of how teams look and how they'll fare in Week 1. Someone commented I should add CalPreps' picks to see how I fare against them but I think for now I'll just stick to the Melendez-Lair tandem. The only pick Keith and I both picked and got right was Ayala over Duarte. We both picked and got wrong Diamond Ranch (Muir won), Pasadena (Arroyo Valley won), La Puente (Gabrielino won; upset of the week) and San Gabriel (Cathedral won).

Thursday, Sept. 11

South Pasadena at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (San Gabriel)
La Canada vs. Crescenta Valley at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Crescenta Valley); Lair (Crescenta Valley)

Friday, Sept. 12

Alhambra at Glendale, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Alhambra); Lair (Alhambra)
Arcadia at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Arcadia); Lair (St. Francis)
Blair at West Covina, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (West Covina); Lair (West Covina)
Duarte at Monrovia, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Duarte); Lair (Monrovia)
Keppel at Workman, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Workman); Lair (Workman)
La Salle at Maranatha, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Maranatha)
Marshall vs. Azusa at PCC, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Azusa); Lair (Azusa)
Oaks Christian at Muir, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Oaks Christian); Lair (Oaks Christian)
Pasadena vs. Saugus at College of the Canyons, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Saugus); Lair (Saugus)
Pasadena Poly at Campbell Hall, 3:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Campbell Hall); Lair (TBA)
Mojave at Rio Hondo Prep, 7:30 p.m. -- Melendez (Rio Hondo Prep); Lair (Mojave)
San Marino at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Gabrielino); Lair (San Marino)
Arroyo at Temple City, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Temple City); Lair (Arroyo)

Saturday, Sept. 13

Bishop Montgomery vs. Bosco Tech at St. Matthias, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (BMontgomery); Lair (BMontgomery)
Flintridge Prep at St. Genevieve, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Flintridge Prep); Lair (St. Genevieve)

In honor of my boy and former Tribune preps editor Aram Tolegian, I am going to continue to use his postgame thread title. Why? Because it's that awesome.

(So who watched the Arcadia-Monrovia game live and what did you think about the feed?)

The football season and Week 0 officially kicked off tonight at a stadium near you and there were quite a few surprises.

Muir 16, Diamond Ranch 6 -- Whoa! So I guess Muir can talk the talk and walk the walk.

Arcadia 41, Monrovia 27 -- Where did Brian Rambeu come from?

Ayala 37, Duarte 13 -- The Bulldogs just had way more weapons.

Gabrielino 12, La Puente 0 -- I thought La Puente was supposed to be a power?

Arroyo Valley 30, Pasadena 19 -- Ummmmmmm ....

Cathedral 38, San Gabriel 14 -- I guess last season was just a fluke for the Phantoms.

Maranatha 47, Linfield Christian 16 -- This is a big statement for the Minutemen.

Pomona 47, Keppel 0 -- I thought Keppel might have had a chance. Guess not.

Bosco Tech 28, Contreras 14 -- Tigerland off to a solid start.

After Week 0 my record stands at a laughable 3-6. I never said I was an expert. Star-News preps writer Keith Lair went 4-5.

Above: Quarterback Nick Bueno played impressive in his varsity debut for the Wildcats.

Miguel's Week 0 Thoughts: I thought the Arcadia-Monrovia game was going to be close with the Wildcats pulling away. They just seemed to have more depth and in actuality they do, and though Arcadia might be small in numbers but they sure are well coached. The Apaches were well-prepared for the Wing-T offense and as a result they executed in just about every facet of the game though they did receive 10 penalties. Monrovia's inability to hold on to the ball and numerous penalties after big plays proved costly. I was impressed with Wildcats quarterback Nick Bueno. He was poised and kept his composure even when Golper was coming right at him. Bueno completed 10 of 14 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns in his varsity debut. Whoever said Golper is soft must get his eyes check and stop drilling QTips when there's resistance. Golper took a hard lick on a carry but bounced right back up, ala Patrick Cown when USC's Ray Maualuga knocked him to the sidelines two years ago at the Rose Bowl. Marquise Williams was kept quiet the entire game and his 5-yard score didn't come until the fourth quarter. He rushed for only 67 yards on 18 carries. And in case you're wondering, the lone Williams-Golper clash didn't come until about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Four plays later Williams scored.

Above: Monrovia's Marquise Williams was kept on check by Arcadia's defense.

Taking a look at the rest of the 626:

Robledo tells me Muir is going to be really good this year. Am I still welcomed at Muir?

... Gabrielino coach Vince Lopez couldn't have asked for a better start to the season: a shutout against a loaded La Puente team

... Kevin Mills has to regroup his team and figure out what went wrong. Mills finally has the depth he's wanted so it's time to put up

... I thought San Gabriel had the weapons in Isaac Valdez & Co. but it looks like Cathedral might be returning to its glory days

... I really do hope Raul Solis over at Keppel gets what he wants out of the Aztecs: to be more competitive this season. I though Keppel would have put up a fight

... Solid win for Bosco Tech. Now, can they stay consistent throughout the season is the question

... Maranatha trailed 8-6 at the half but its offense turned it up against host Linfield Christian, 47-16. So here's my question, what the heck did Coach Joel Murphy tell his guys at halftime? I'm excited to see how Matt Schilz and La Salle's Chase Rettig will fare when they face each other next week. Lancers coach Antoine Peterson made the drive Friday night to scout the Minutement. I think it's safe to assume Joel Murphy will drive on over to Granada Hills and scout the Lancers, too

... The lights went out over at Duarte. Derek Brandon created havoc for Duarte. Jordan Canada had a 97-yard kickoff return. He has the talent to carry the Falcons so lets see if he fares better against Monrovia next week.

Muir-Diamond Ranch video highlights

For complete scores of football games outside our coverage area, click on thread.

Streaming live video by Ustream

Above: Arcadia's Todd Golper will be asked to carry the Apaches this season.

In just one day the season officially kicksoff at a football stadium near you. The Star-News Game of the Week is Monrovia-Arcadia.

The Apaches last season put a whoopin' on the Wildcats but don't expect that to happen this season. I'm excited to see a Todd Golper-Marquise Williams showdown, Williams trying to generate the yards on the ground and Golper planning on halting Williams.

Arcadia barely has 30 players on its varsity roster but its starting 11 are no joke. There still are question marks for Monrovia at the quarterback spot. Junior Daniel Caldera and sophomore Nick Bueno were battling for the starting job during fall camp.

I'll be covering this game and we'll broadcast it live on our site from beginning to end come Friday night beginning 7 p.m.

Above: Monrovia's Marquise Williams will lead the attack on the ground.

Friday Game of the Week: Monrovia at Arcadia

Friday video highlight Game of the Week: Muir at Diamond Ranch

(Week 0) Friday, Sept. 5

Monrovia at Arcadia, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Monrovia); Lair (Arcadia)

Muir vs. Diamond Ranch at Ganesha High, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (D-Ranch); Lair (Diamond Ranch)

Pasadena vs. Arroyo Valley at PCC, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Pasadena); Lair (Pasadena)

Ayala at Duarte, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Ayala); Lair (Ayala)

Gabrielino at La Puente, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (La Puente); Lair (La Puente)

Cathedral vs. San Gabriel at St. Matthias, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (San Gabriel)

Pomona at Keppel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Keppel); Lair (Pomona)

Maranatha at Linfield Christian, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Maranatha)

Bosco Tech at Contreras, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Bosco Tech); Lair (Contreras)

Saturday, Sept. 6

La Salle vs. Villlage Christian/Sun Valley at Kennedy/Granada Hills, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (La Salle); Lair (Village Christian)

Above: Five area players who should make an impact this season include, clockwise from bottom left, Monrovia's Marquise Williams, St. Francis's Dietrich Riley, Muir's Myles Campbell, Arcadia's Todd Golper and Alhambra's Mitchell Crockom. (Keith Birmingham / Staff Photographer)

The 2008 Prep Football Preview ran in Wednesday's paper. Hope you all bought a copy.

Click here for the cover story "On broad shoulders: Players show they can carry the load"

Click here for the Miguel Melendez column

Click here for the Almont League preview

Click here for the Pacific League preview

Click here for the Rio Hondo League preview

Click here for the Montview League preview

Click here for the Mission Valley League preview

Click here for the Parochial Schools preview

Click here for the Small Schools preview

Click here for the playoffs realignment story "San Gabriel Valley will have its own CIF-SS Playoffs"

Click here for the new coaches story "Going in new direction: Coaches bring different philosophies to teams

The preseason Top 10 poll is an educated guess at best.

As always, with any sport, the poll settles itself come the second or third week of the season.

St. Francis last season was the No. 1 preseason pick.

Before the season started, the Golden Knights had the weapons to compete with the big boys in the Mission League and the playoffs, too. But the Golden Knights lost their quarterback and their season went down with him.

Coach Jim Bonds hopes this season isn't another forgettable season. They have the weapons to compete with the powerhouses in the CIF-Southern Section and it's why they are this year's preseason No. 1 pick.

1. St. Francis

Dietrich Riley said the Golden Knights have, hands down, the toughest schedule in the area. They face Rio Mesa, El Rancho, Bishop Amat and Crespi, all before the start of the always-tough Mission League, that includes 2007 CIF-SS champion St. Paul.

Riley will have a strong supporting cast with All-CIF returnee Rian Younker anchoring the line.

2. Muir

Coach Ken Howard said his team has the toughest nonleague schedule. But the Golden Knights get the edge because of their strong league schedule. Arcadia will present the Mustangs with the biggest challenge in league this season, but not before they head into Panthers Country to face powerhouse Diamond Ranch. Oaks Christian and Venice are also on Muir's plate, both opponents that could provide Mustang Nation with an upset stomach, and all of this before the start of league.

3. Arcadia

The Apaches usually have Division I players and this season is no different. Todd Golper is rated one of the top linebackers in the nation and is headed to UCLA. Arcadia will rely on Golper's leadership, and from the get-go, the Apaches will know where they stand against the rest of the best area teams depending on who they fare against Monrovia in Week 0.

4. Rosemead

Coach Matt Koffler must be thrilled that the Panthers return nearly their entire defense from a year ago. That alone makes them the best team in the Mission Valley League. They have a core of explosive players and though their offensive line might be undersized, they are still capable of performing big time.

5. Monrovia

Marquise Williams will carry the offensive load for the Wildcats. He amassed 1,000 yards last season and expects to put up big numbers again this season. Coach Ryan Maddox is the new guy in town, but he's a winner coming from West Covina, where he helped the Bulldogs win a CIF-SS title not long ago.

6. La Salle

The Lancers have a new coach in Antoine Petersen, but they have one of the premier quarterbacks in the area in Chase Rettig. He's a true quarterback with the size and the arm to expose defenses. La Salle's game against Maranatha will be a good matchup for the city of Pasadena, but things will get much more difficult come Camino Real League play and the Northwest playoffs, where they could potentially face Oaks Christian.

7. San Gabriel

The Matadors have their running back and quarterback returning. It's too early to tell, but with that kind of talent returning, San Gabriel should contend for the Almont League title and improve on last year's second-round thumping by La Habra.

8. Alhambra

The Moors finished third in the Almont League last year, but they could contend with San Gabriel for a shot at league. Bell Gardens is not too far behind, but Alhambra has the weapons to spread its receivers, which includes junior stud Mitchell Crockom. Coach Gil Ruedaflores is expecting big things from Crockom. The Moors' preleague schedule is not as heavy as others, so they must win big to make an early statement to the rest of the league contenders.

9. Temple City

Randy Backus has big plans for the Rams. He is in his second season after Mike Mooney departed and left to become the vice principal at San Marino. Look for Temple City to improve from its 5-7 finish last season. The Rams return Morgan Hatch at quarterback and could give Monrovia a run for its money.

10. San Marino

Mooney re-appears on the sidelines and officially joins D.R. Moreland's coaching staff. Mooney will concentrate on the offensive line. Steven Wright returns at quarterback and he'll hope to find Will Myers and Daniel Cisic open.

That's right boys and girls, we will broadcast live from the Monrovia-Arcadia game. This is a new feature our Web gurus had in the works.

The plan is to broadcast the game live from start to finish. There will be no play-by-play announcing but you'll be able to see and listen to the ambiance of the game.

One cool feature on the live broadcast is you'll have the ability to chat live with others who are also watching the game. You can discuss the plays, poke fun and talk a little trash, but just make sure you keep it clean.

Log on to www.pasadenastarnews.com to watch the game. We will be broadcasting the best games of the week so even if you can't make the game you can still stay in the know.

Anybody that can't make the game and planning on watching this game live on our site?

I went to the UCLA game not really knowing what to expect from my beloved Bruins this season. Would the Bruins get blown out by the visiting Vols? I thought they would but boy was I wrong.

I was at the game with Freddy Robledo. Just before the winning drive by the Bruins, Freddy convinced me to leave our perfect view from the 40-yard line, 20 rows up to watch from the "4" tunnel so that when the Bruins score we could leave right away and head for the shuttle buses.

UCLA took a 24-21 lead (a score Freddy predicted) with 27 seconds remaining so Freddy thought it was over and we left.

Wrong!

When we got to the shuttles, Tennessee went on to tie it after a few plays with a field goal. There were some UCLA fans who thought we were kidding when we told them.

Fred Robledo Sr. gave Freddy the play-by-play on the bus ride to the parking lot. When UCLA won, the bus erupted.

When Freddy predicted the Bruins beating the Vols the bloggers over on his side gave him a lot of heat, and as it turned out they had to later apologize after UCLA upset No. 18 Tennessee, 27-24, in overtime. The victory helped the Bruins earn a No. 23 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll which was released earlier today.

It was a tale of two halves for Mt. SAC-transfer Kevin Craft.

He throws four interceptions in the first half and already people near our seats, including me, were calling for a new quarterback.

But what poise by Kraft to come back in the second half and play like a four-year starter, throwing for nearly 200 yards and generating the winning drive.

It's funny how quickly people change their minds, the same guys calling for Kraft's head suddenly saying "I love Kevin Kraft" and "Kraft for President" (that's what I yelled).

UCLA can thank its defense for keeping it in the game. And how fitting for the Bruins' first score to come from their heralded defense.

Rick Neuheisel did an outstanding job in sticking with Kraft and keeping him calm. Kudos to Norm Chow who did the same. Some bloggers over on Freddy's blog are calling Chow a god. I wouldn't go that far but what a difference when you finally have a real coach and offensive coordinator. I would go as far as saying Kraft did more than Patrick Cowan or Ben Olson have done combined since they've been at UCLA, though Cowan did help beat USC a couple years ago.

In Kraft the Bruins might finally have a passing game and a mobile quarterback.

What I thought was going to be a long Bruins season suddenly turned into a season to look forward to. Why am I talking about UCLA? First of all, I'm a Bruins fanatic (especially in basketball) and secondly you gotta remember this: when you're in Pasadena you're in Bruins territory.

So bring on BYU! Bring on Fresno State! Bring on the Pac-10 and bring on those other guys on the other side of town!!!

Programming note: The football tab will run on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Hope you all enjoy it!

Star-News preps writer Keith Lair and I will be going head-to-head throughout the season, and I will update our records each Monday on the "Star Picks" thread. This will be the first time Lair and I go head-to-head so we'll come up with a bet for the loser to pay at the end of the season. Lunch perhaps? Any thoughts on what Lair should pay at the end of the season?

Here are this week's predictions.

(Week 0) Friday, Sept. 5

Monrovia at Arcadia, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Monrovia); Lair (Arcadia)

Muir vs. Diamond Ranch at Ganesha High, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (D-Ranch); Lair (Diamond Ranch)

Pasadena vs. Arroyo Valley at PCC, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Pasadena); Lair (Pasadena)

Ayala at Duarte, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Ayala); Lair (Ayala)

Gabrielino at La Puente, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (La Puente); Lair (La Puente)

Cathedral vs. San Gabriel at St. Matthias, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (San Gabriel)

Pomona at Keppel, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Keppel); Lair (Pomona)

Maranatha at Linfield Christian, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Maranatha); Lair (Maranatha)

Bosco Tech at Contreras, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (Bosco Tech); Lair (Contreras)

Saturday, Sept. 6

La Salle vs. Villlage Christian/Sun Valley at Kennedy/Granada Hills, 7 p.m. -- Melendez (La Salle); Lair (Village Christian)

Miguel's Thoughts: The most intriguing match here has to be Muir-Diamond Ranch. I don't think this will be a high-scoring game but I do see the Panthers coming away with a 24-21 victory. I will be covering Arcadia-Monrovia. What a way to start the season: a Todd Golper-Marquise Williams clash down the middle! Maranatha and Linfield Christian both are ranked in its division so that'll be an interesting matchup. So here are my thoughts, what are yours? Don't be shy and have your say. What are your predctions?

Here are the divisions with schools on this side of the 626. Click here for the rest of the CIF-Southern Section preseason Top 10 polls.

MID-VALLEY DIVISION

1. Paraclete (Olympic) 12-1
2. San Dimas (Valle Vista) 9-2
3. South El Monte (Mission Valley) 7-5
4. Temple City (Rio Hondo) 5-7
5. Monrovia (Rio Hondo) 6-6
6. La Puente (Montview) 7-4
7. Valley Christian/Cerritos (Olympic) 7-6
8. Northview (Valle Vista) 7-4
9. Duarte (Montview) 8-3
10. Rosemead (Mission Valley) 7-4

OTHERS: Covina (Valle Vista), 5-5; San Marino (Rio Hondo), 5-4-1; Whittier Christian (Olympic), 6-6; Azusa (Montview), 5-6; Gabrielino (Mission Valley), 2-8.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

1. South Hills (San Antonio) 10-3
2. Charter Oak (Miramonte) 10-2-1
3. Diamond Ranch (Miramonte) 7-3
4. Schurr (Almont) 8-5
5. Santa Fe (Del Rio) 5-6
6. California (Del Rio) 11-2
7. Muir (Pacific) 9-3
8. Burroughs/Burbank (Pacific) 4-7
9. Alhambra (Almont) 7-4
10. West Covina (San Antonio) 6-6

OTHERS: Los Altos (Miramonte), 5-5; Burbank (Pacific), 3-7; Rowland (San Antonio), 3-8.

WESTERN DIVISION
1. Palmdale (Golden) 12-2
2. Dominguez (San Gabriel Valley) 10-3
3. St. Paul (Mission) 10-4
4. Gahr (San Gabriel Valley) 10-3
5. Palos Verdes (Bay) 8-3-1
6. Alemany (Mission) 8-4
7. Beverly Hills (Ocean) 4-6-1
8. Quartz Hill (Golden) 8-3
9. Redondo (Bay) 8-4
10. Santa Monica (Ocean) 6-5

OTHERS: Highland (Golden), 5-6; Chaminade (Mission), 6-4; St. Francis (Mission), 4-6; Inglewood (Ocean), 4-6; Culver City (Ocean), 11-1.

NORTHWEST DIVISION

1. Oaks Christian (Tri-Valley) 15-0
2. Serra (Del Rey) 9-3
3. St. Joseph/Santa Maria (Los Padres) 9-3
4. Santa Clara (Tri-Valley) 11-1-1
5. Oak Park (Tri-Valley) 9-4
6. Torrance (Pioneer) 7-4
7. Harvard/Westlake (Del Rey) 8-4
8. Morro Bay (Los Padres) 11-1
9. Carpinteria (Tri-Valley) 4-6
10. La Salle (Camino Real) 6-6

OTHERS: Verbum Dei (Camino Real), 2-8; North Torrance (Pioneer), 4-7; Bishop Montgomery (Camino Real), 1-9.

EAST VALLEY DIVISION

1. St. Margaret's (Academy) 14-0
2. Maranatha (Alpha) 8-4
3. Twentynine Palms (De Anza) 8-3
4. Brentwood (Alpha) 12-2
5. Big Bear (De Anza) 8-3
6. Ontario Christian (Christian) 9-3
7. Desert (High Desert) 9-2
8 Aquinas (Christian) 7-5
9. Bishop (High Desert) 7-6
10. Grace Brethren (Frontier) 4-6

OTHERS: Fillmore (Frontier), 4-6; Calvary Chapel/Downey (Alpha), 5-4; Sage Hill (Academy), 8-3; Santa Paula (Frontier), 4-6; Brethren Christian (Academy), 4-6; Kern Valley (High Desert), 5-6.

NORTHEAST DIVISION

1. Saddleback Valley Christian (San Joaquin) 12-1
2. Calvary Murrieta (Big Sky) 9-4
3. Mammoth (Desert Mountain) 7-4
4. Linfield Christian (Big Sky) 8-4
5. Boron (Desert Mountain) 6-5
6. Rio Hondo Prep (Prep) 5-6
7. Flintridge Prep (Prep) 7-4
8. Salesian (Santa Fe) 3-7
9. Fairmont Prep (San Joaquin) 7-4
10. Bell-Jeff (Santa Fe) 9-2

OTHERS: Silver Valley (Desert Mountain), 4-6; Pasadena Poly (Prep), 3-6; St. Anthony (Santa Fe), 7-4; Bloomington Christian (San Joaquin), 3-6.