Friday Night Aftermath: Pasadena plays tough in loss; La Salle exposes 'Natha; Temple City shocked, Rosemead shocks; Monrovia, St. Francis romp; Muir drubbed.

josh get off the blog, your muir career is over , get over it already

!stang!

How does muir of 2009 compare with 2008 muir team?
#23
#3
#7
#55
#21
#4
#(24)

Which players of this years team can be like those players or close? Where do you see Mr.Williams going to college next year and Mr.T

When will the coaches at TC learn...

Backus tried to utilize a QB and look how TC's season started last year. White tries to utilize a QB for the first half and TC goes into the locker room praying for a second half surge.

These seniors (whole O-line, ruckle, d-line, etc) were all indoctrinated into Ram Football during Mooney's last year as TC Head coach. What type of offense did these guys work on while they were freshmen/sophomores? POWER RUNS!

My game plan if I had been White? Go with what has worked, start out with that heavy run package. Then, when you have a sufficient lead or handle on things, switch to and try out your spread offense. Be aware that these kids have spent three years learnign that smash mouth run-oriented offense, and

Big Fat Fan -

You are probably right about MHS stats only appearing when things are going well. Lazy coaches I guess.

Correction of the below post -

nathafan said:

(Cody Keith's father is bankrolling a documentary on Cody that will tell the story of his quest to get a Division I scholarship offer. This is not a joke, but it should be.)

You see..this is how rumors get started. Shame Shame on you guys.
Cody Keith's father is not "bankrolling" (nice choice of words to make it sound juicier) a documentary. The documentary is being done by a company on their own and they chose Cody almost randomly but I believe Steve Clarkson has something to do with the choice of QB to use. Not completely sure of that but I know that this was an idea that was presented to Cody and there was no "Bankrolling" by the Keith family.
You guys are too much!!

nathafan said:

Cody Keith's father is bankrolling a documentary on Cody that will tell the story of his quest to get a Division I scholarship offer. This is not a joke, but it should be.

BFF -

Chase Rettig did not play in San Clemente's first game - he was injured (stress fracture in back, injured in August or something like that.) Supposedly he will return for this week's game.

I found this info in the North County Times and OCVarsity.com.

Goldenarm,
M-town hasnt pulled away from T.C. when it comes to team strength????? I'll give u all day that T.C. almost always has a big and strong off/def line, but what good is that if you have no TEAM SPEED??? The Rio Hondo league will once again come down to who can knock off the cats. That spread thing over at T.C. has me concerned, and I cant believe im saying this but it might be san marino/M-town for the league title. As far as playoffs go.....everyone thats doing all this talkin saying monrovia this or rosemead that needs to calm down. Its way too early....relax
Stang Fan am I right or not

Any word on how Chase Rettig did in his first start for san clemente? again, no stats in MaxPreps for San Clemente, but they won the game.

ha ha, my thoughts exactly

Probably no stats because we only hear from Maranatha when there is good news - bad news so far.

Maranatha is not entering stats into MaxPreps this season??

Ga , muir plays on thursday @ 7. If your free you should come out and check them stangs out.

Goldenarm. Taylor's patio is always open to you. As fae as the Spartans, I will know more about 9:30 Friday. Good luck to RHL teams, lets run the table this weekend.

New York and Observant Cat,

I would a agree with both of your analyses, it is way to early to try to find a true favorite in the Mid-Valley division. I am a Rosemead fan, but like everyone else i follow all of the Valley East and West. I've been telling my friends since the summer that there is way too much parody this year. On paper and through there tough schedule i would agree that Paraclete is again the team to beat, you cannot dethrone a champ until they have been booted from the playoffs. IMO However, i would not anoint them the champs yet. I would even argue that no one in our division has had any impressive victories except Paraclete, and even those favorites that have won (Monrovia, San Dimas, Rosemead) either not looked that impressive in their wins, or their opponent was mediocre at best; however, even in saying that, a VICTORY is a VICTORY!

In saying all this there are some certainties: 1) Paraclete is Paraclete, they are not very flashy and just get it done! Will be difficult to beat! 2) San Dimas will always score points, however, will they defend? Will they be physical? 3) Monrovia is Bueno, but will they adapt soon enough to their newly spread offense; from what i understand from a few friends who went to the Arcadia and Duarte game, it seems to be a wrinkle not the main offense. They still line up with two backs and try to pound it occasionally! The spread take time to perfect, ask TC! The Cats are good, we just don't know how good! 4) Rosemead will play physical on both sides of the ball (i hope). They seemed to be a step slow defensively and missed a lot of tackles last week, this won't get it done vs. Bueno! Their offensive line dominated amassing close to 400 yards on the ground! Macias wasn't spectacular, but he was efficient going 6 for 15 i believe with a touchdown! Joey Diaz carried the load offensively, but you could tell he was exhausted! In order for Rosemead to be successful in my opinion is to continue to be physical on both sides of the ball, and the Luis Diaz, Joey Diaz, Conrado simpson, Galindo, and #21 need to step it up on the Defensive side of the ball, or else it is going to be a long night trying to stop Bueno! 5) TC will compete and give there max effort like they always do, but they are a year away in my opinion!

New York:

It's clearly pre-season and that is why at this point after looking at results from just a couple of games I've made my observations. but If you read thoroughly through my blog it demonstrates just my belief at this point. Anything could happen between now and game day Friday but as for now if I were to take a calculated guess, just like everyone else does, this would be my opinion. LIke I said, I don't see Paraclete being that kind of Monster. I believe they will struggle in their own league this year. From top to bottom their league has pretty much equaled out this season. There seems to be a consensus amongst some of the Star News bloggers that Paraclete is the team to beat this year, I'm just not buying into that. Yes they won the Div. last year, but this is a very different year for teams in this Div. Coming out of the blocks they just have not gotten my nod.

By the way, judging the Wildcats right now they are still very much a work in progress team. I do believe if things go the way they should that they have my vote as the team to beat in this Div.

Matt,
my friends at La Salle already took away my parking permit and now I can't book at table on the patio at Taylor's either.

Good luck on Friday, how to you see LC so far?

Observant Cat,

#1-2 punch of Monrovia/San Dimas...neither team has played anybody worth mentioning yet. I would take Arcadia over Los Altos, but still. Let's slow down. There is surely plenty of potential at Monrovia but we have not yet proven anything. Paraclete is a factory and has a culture of success, not to mention all the football training equipment an offensive line coach could want.

Rosemead will test the character of our defensive line with their physical play. I like Monrovia' chances for a big win, but I will take any win. I almost wish we did not have to play Duarte last week. It is sometimes difficult going from a game like that to a game against an established program that plays physical football.

It looks like the film crew at La Salle for the Maranatha game was making a movie referred to in the comment noted titled "The Hopeful." If you do a Google search using "Cody Keith" and "The Hopeful" you will get the background story

Oh my. They should be getting some "interesting" footage

One sure pick - Maranatha will not lose this week (BYE WEEK!!!)

GA:

I will have to challenge you on a couple of your observations about last years Cat season. As interesting as last season was in terns of wins, a lot was plotted more so off of a new sophomore QB and a completely new offense. If you recall just a year before Monrovia had a much better balanced attack when it cam to the offensive scheme. We had around 500 total yards against TC and the score reflected that style of play (37-7) where I believe we were ahead 30-o at the half. Matt Haggard threw for 222 yards and Williams and Smith combined for over 300 rushing. As Maddox became our first year Coach, his goal was to evoke his wing style offense and chose not to pass in o8 game against TC therefore allowing TC a lot more opportunity to exploit it's power game on Monrovia mixed with a decent passing attack. Allowing Marquise to handle 80% of the offensive carries, although the job still got done it wasn't a typical Monrovia offense. The same can be said in the La Canada game, almost ditto. As you see this year Monrovia's game plan will be to mix the run and the passing game which I believe a more experienced Nick Bueno is very capable of doing, the good thing about this year is that we have a lot of go to guys who can come out of the backfield on slant routes or end arounds and out run plenty of defensive schemes wear-as last year we relied heavily on our running game.

Now let's get to the Dessert!

Paraclete: in my opinion is not heads and shoulders above any one in the Div. and to me hasn't really been. I respect the fact that they play to win and take what defenses have given them. I recall the 08 quarter final game at Monrovia where the Wildcats had the Clete on the ropes throughout the entire game. The Cats had two really bad call late in that game and 2 nullified scores that caused the game to go to Paraclete and as a result Paraclete won that game by a score of 23-20, later that season they were defeated by Bishop Diego 12-6. Last year was a much better year for them in defeating Rosemead in the final game in Lancaster, but this year will be another story for any team competing for the top spot in the Mid-Valley div. It is truly up for grabs. The closest thing to a 1-2 punch so far may be seen early in the pre-season in the Monrovia/San Dimas Game. Not to overlook anyone else, it's just that at this point of the season the pendulum seems to be pointing that way.

As Far as the strength and conditioning goes, I have always had concerns about that at MHS, Monrovia tended to have the kind of athletes who sometimes take it for granted the importance of lifting and conditioning therefore leading to fatigue and burnout during the more challenging games. But in the last Four years I've notice a lot more of our players in the weight room and gyms all over the city and it shows. Next year Monrovia will have a state of the Art Gym for both the Girls and Boys Sports teams which will feature a state of the Art Weight Room, this shall help tremendously in Coach Maddox style of conditioning through out the year. Never the less, I think this should be a real exiting year in the RHL. Temple City will be strong as always a bit more challenged by other teams in the RHL such as San Marino & South Pasadena, Having a good secondary can be crucial in this upcoming season for all of the teams in the RHL. This years Wildcat team looks a lot more balanced and dangerous than last years team but having a good back like Max Ruckle and a good offensive line could make for a more challenging outcome. Good Luck against the Moors!

Goldenarm,

You are breaking my heart. Glendale over LC!!!!!!!!! Will not happen. LC will come flying out at them and will win by 14 points.

PICKS……..

Misses on La Salle, The Mead and TC
GA 10-3 last week

Game of the Week
Cats over Panthers

Glendale over LC (good luck Yoder and LC)
SM over La Salle (please, prove me wrong again, Lancers)
Gabe over Keppel
SF over CV
TC over the Moors
So Pas over Hoover
Burbank over SG
Jordan over PHS
Venice over Muir (sorry Stang Fan, 35 -28, either team on top)
RHP over Brent
Marshall…ouch
V Prep over F Prep

Arcadia and Blair layin low

WONKA,

Coaches have the responsibility to know the rules, new or old. Why make excuses for a clear mistake on the behalf of Ram coaches? And why the low blow on Carrington?

I am a bit surprised at your statement that "TC was supposed to lose"..... somehow that makes everything all right???

By the way, Ram coaches were on the field constantly, not just violating the chalk boundaries. The refs had a bit of a power trip, they warned the TC coaches repeatedly. someone needed to listen. This is not sandlot, and it may be a good idea to annoint a "sideline specialist" in order to keep the peace AND to establish a cordial working relationship with the officials. Apparently these refs communicated with our captains poorly as well. NOTE: Improvement needed!

PhillyB,

There are many "ifs" yet to be resolved...and M-town will still find competitiveness among the RHL this season. I don't see the balance of M-town games looking like the D-rock score.
While I agree on the divisional strength statements and most of what you say, we saw good football played in our "weak" brackets last year and some glimpses of parity here and there. Paraclete is a good representative Champ, and a team that will take huevos to knock off their seat.
I may be biased, but M-town has not YET pulled away from TC in team strength, though signs point to it happening soon . Witness last year's head banger, a game which easily could have tilted the other way on a single play.
It would take a major disruption in the FORCE to keep M-town from where they are going.

Observantcat/New York,
I hope and expect monrovia to do real well this season, from what Im hearing. I think Coach Maddox is doing a great job at monrovia. My thing is if monrovia goes all the way, how much will it really be worth, in the weak division, and weak league that we're in!!! Back in those late 90's and early 2000's league play did get a lil competitive, and sometimes there were ties here and there of course it always landed on the Mon-T.C. game but now beyond those two teams who else is there really??? And our division....you already know my take on that so I wont go into it. But in Maddox 1st year I saw alot more technique overall within the team, not as much toughness as back then, but if you have speed, execution and disicpline for four qtrs. thats all that matters to me. So Monrovia will do it big, Im sure I dont know bout going undefeated, I think San Dimas will give monrovia a real quick chin check, but other than that, I believe the cats get the panthers, and La salle of course

Anon 2:59 Sep 13th

There is a new rule CIF implemented this year which is a restricted zone that coaches use to be able to be in. The flag was a warning not a penalty. Art Carrington is a wannabe coach who tries to stick his nose into everything. Glad to see he isnt on the sidelines anymore.

My thought is TC will rebound after a tough emtional loss. They are to good not to. The fact remains that they were supposed to lose the Arroyo game so them being in it should say a lot about what is in the "GATORADE" over there. I see a hard fought game but TC comes out on top 28-17

Yeah. Rycroft was a BMF, but he was always a softy around the much younger syblings who came out to watch practice. He definitely inspired loyalty.

NY:

I like our freshman prospects, Especially at the wide receiver spots. They will have a very good year under the leadership of a "Veteran" Quarterback and a pretty good line. That Rycroft was a real Monster but I dont remember a player that didn't just LOVE him. He reminded me of Goldberg on the WWF, the thing I liked most about him was his way of forcing his authority from just the look in his eyes. If you slacked off he made you feel like the looser you probably were at the time, maybe that's why I enjoyed having that scrimmage every year against Muir. It was always a game of tough love. Limping off the field to Rycroft was like someone complaining about not getting enough to drink. If your leg wasn't broken then you were still good to go. This years team reminds me more of the teams of the 83 very athletic, very confident, not cocky but confident and very capable of playing with any team at any time.

RE: nathafan's comment on 9/14/09 at 1:05PM:

It looks like the film crew at La Salle for the Maranatha game was making a movie referred to in the comment noted titled "The Hopeful." If you do a Google search using "Cody Keith" and "The Hopeful" you will get the background story.

That 2000 season with Santa Ynez epitomized the years of downard trajectory that followed, with a shining light in 2002 of course. But even the 2002 team gave up some big points to some teams. I wish they could have played for Coach Brown or Coach Rycroft. Remember, the huge coaching turnover that occurred at the lower levels as well as every Varsity assistant from 1996-99. That collective turnover of the coaches who built things up resulted in less fundamentals getting tought early on, and the lack of swaggar and aggression that those rough-around-the-edges varsity assistant brought. Otherwise, we would have never missed a beat. AGAIN, I do not think that all of that was necessarily good character teaching, but we certainly never got worked over when those guys were around. I mean, it used to feel like a butt-kicking if we lost 28-7 or 28-14, and we never went into a game afraid and expecting to lose like that 2000 game with Santa Ynez.

It is all about the future. Our team of players and coaches keeps getting better. I, too, think that we can be better than ever now. Everything looks better fundamentally. We seem business-like and very well conditioned. Plays get sent in on time. The correct number of players are on the field. Punt returners dont let the ball roll an additional 25 yards, etc. I am very excited about the present and future.

Philly B. / New York

This years team has as much potential if not more of being one of the Wildcats all time special teams. If these guys get through this year unscaved I can see that "future being so bright they would need shades to play next year" as GA kindly put it a few months back. I like the aggressiveness of the D and they are still young lot's of Sophomores and Jr's on this team and great leadership from the senior class. That front 4 is just monstrous going after the ball, I like the play of Josh Lowden and Grant Haggard along with the three newcomers Isayah Daniels, Ellis McCarthy, and Bubba Johnson, these guys like to hit and hit hard. I remember that game against Santa ynez, it was so cold that night, I didn't even want to get out of the car. That was probably on of the biggest high school lines I've ever seen. They did get revenge on us that night. With both the weather and the score. I agree with a lot of the bloggers about the re-leaguing I think we can be competitive at any level as long as we come out to play, Those late 90 and early 2000 teams proved that. We played great football but a bit to conservative for my taste. I think that Maddox has the killer instinct in him and will know how to use all of his talented players wisely.

Philly B. / New York

This years team has as much potential if not more of being one of the Wildcats all time special teams. If these guys get through this year unscaved I can see that "future being so bright they would need shades to play next year" as GA kindly put it a few months back. I like the aggressiveness of the D and they are still young lot's of Sophomores and Jr's on this team and great leadership from the senior class. That front 4 is just monstrous going after the ball, I like the play of Josh Lowden and Grant Haggard along with the three newcomers Isayah Daniels, Ellis McCarthy, and Bubba Johnson, these guys like to hit and hit hard. I remember that game against Santa ynez, it was so cold that night, I didn't even want to get out of the car. That was probably on of the biggest high school lines I've ever seen. They did get revenge on us that night. With both the weather and the score. I agree with a lot of the bloggers about the re-leaguing I think we can be competitive at any level as long as we come out to play, Those late 90 and early 2000 teams proved that. We played great football but a bit to conservative for my taste. I think that Maddox has the killer instinct in him and will know how to use all of his talented players wisely.

New York,
I totally agree with you as far as those teams in the 90's being another breed. And even the early 2000's had some hard hitting at least up until 02-03. after that I think it fell off alot. As far as Santa Ynez, I saw them put a good whoppin on the cats back in 2000, it was a sad thing there. but I dont know if they're still that good.

GloucesterCoach,
I really hate that cif realigned the divisions. I also agree the talent has dropped off alot overall in the league. I still think that we should be in the same league with arcadia, pasadena, and muir. put Monrovia, T.C. and switch with glendale and Hoover, and thats one hell of a Pacific League right there. Sadly it would never happen but it really should. If Monrovia, or T.C. wins CIF, the division is just too weak for any credibility, only to say one of our local teams won it all, which is good, but why is La Salle in Division X. Sucks for them because its the same division as Oaks Christian. They need to re-think that one

Joe Kennedy had a film crew on his kids constantly while they were growing up. So what. Leave the family alone.

Cody Keith's father is bankrolling a documentary on Cody that will tell the story of his quest to get a Division I scholarship offer. This is not a joke, but it should be.

Did anyone see the column size in the PSN sports section describing Friday nights games??? Talk about "minimal".

The "stories" are so brief and ultra-edited - they hardly give any feel of what happened in the games at all.

PSN - devote more space, more photos to your football coverage - it could mean more papers sold. More papers sold could equate to more advertising revenue.

Sorry for the double post I am blogging from My phone.

Ga,This is a weak year for all of SGV. This also one of the less talented Muir teams. But far as of 2009 I think they we be fine. The running back Eddie T. Has been running hard and fighting for yards , I think he will have a out break like swine flu. Lol. I seen him in track season he runs with power,once the Oline gets some more experience together and Eddie T. Gets to the second level( linebackers) that's when the muir's team will get rolling. After seeing Eddie in the DR game I was impressed because it took 3 or 4 guys to tackle him. . Muir will when league but a championship , ill have to report to you around week 8 Or 9.
This is a weak year for all of SGV. This also one of the less talented Muir teams. But far as of 2009 I think they we be fine. The running back Eddie T. Has been running hard and fighting for yards , I think he will have a out break like swine flu. Lol. I seen him in track season he runs with power,once the Oline gets some more experience together and Eddie T. Gets to the second level( linebackers) that's when the muir's team will get rolling. After seeing Eddie in the DR game I was impressed because it took 3 or 4 guys to tackle him. . Muir will when league but a championship , ill have to report to you around week 8 Or 9.

mead / mtown - if monrovia walks with this one, it could be that Maddox is destined to be among the cactus come December

la salle/ san marino - how good, kinda good, or real good - are either of these teams?

cv/st francis
great early season games!

muir gets a legit W opportunity against venice

tc gets a hungry moor team (1 of only 4 home games for the Rams)a bigger, stronger opponent with a very good air attack - and looking to establish their ground game with the big honcho in their backfield. rams drained from a emotional loss - can they rebound?

!stang!

how do I think Muir will do this year?

The Oaks Christian massacre is really not a gauge to measure on. How the Stangs respond and recoil this week should be though. What do you think??

I was impressed by the size and agility of the Muir kids at the Arroyo lineman challenge. How are these kids holding up after DR and OC?

Tommy T,

We TC'ers know both Benny Hung and the little bro of Williams Do as well. Hung has been a rock since he was a freshman, so it is not surprising he finally is getting a greater share of the carries with Dooley graduated. He is a fine linebacker as well.
Strangely, Dooley and Ruckle have become good friends as well. Weird how the SM/TC relationship has branched in different directions.
I have yet to see Kwame play, but it would have been great to have him in green/gold and follow the many contributions made by his brother...an excellent cross-sport athlete. Nonetheless, I hope he does well as a Titan. Trust me, the SAN MARINO CROWD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WHEN MR. DO BEGINS LEADING CHEERS!!!

Sounds like another strong backfield combo, and with a matured Forgatch, Yortsos healthy and several key linemen back...the Titans will be in the mix for sure.
That combined with the uneasy, twitching (I want more)Mooney interview awhile back on MVN....SM could really make something happen this year. GOOD LUCK.

As for the Monrovia comments, I have to say watching the Monrovia team circa '05... They had some talented guys.
I believe that was David Potts at quarterback where he really began to mature. His game against Arcadia, early season, was huge the rest of the way for those Cats. Davis, the transfer from Los Altos, was a huge boost on the ground. He was just a good running back and his blocking was pretty underrated. He brought the whole package that year, but what made the team great was their depth. Sean Sparks was a little guy with some serious pop. Once he got the ball, it was down field and look for somebody to punish. The O-line had some great guys and that defense was so solid all season.Got to love the kicker, too. Sean Kelly had quite a leg, ask Pete Carrol.

Monrovia always seems to re-load no matter what and I don't think enough credit can be given to a guy like Steve Garrison who really built that program up after some rough years. Very similair to coach Pasquerella over on the east side, whose created an area juggernaut at Glendora high school. Former assistant Brandon Rohrer also enjoying success over at LP in replacement of coach Hernandez.

Good stuff!

Philly B,
Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing the talent of the 99 team to this years team. The RHL back then was a different beast compared to now no doubt. I agree with you that the Mid Valley Division is really a step down from when we were competing in Div. X back in the day. In a post a while back when we first heard about the shift into these new divisions I was opposed to it, because I knew eventually a RHL team would win, and it wouldn't mean as much compared to if we had a team special enough to win CIF in Div. X.

SP played again Paso Robles my senior year in the first round and got worked....trust me I know how good they are. The 98 SP team was probably our best team in recent memory and we ended up playing against Mira Costa in the Quarters and got romped, Mira Costa moved up to Div. 2 or something the next year.
The RHL in the late 90's would be rolling on the MV Division right now....

You can ask NY, we have posted back and forth about M-Town and his agony about the Championship game against Paso Robles TWICE. We were all cheering for Monrovia because that would have put the RHL on the Map. Instead the RHL got a little softer and the overall talent has dropped off. The result of this is that instead of the top 4 teams making it into the playoffs only the top 3 are now given bids, the shift of CIF divisions etc.

Don't get me wrong, we still have lots of individual talent coming out of the RHL...you can list off names like a certain Ram who played at USC, but it's a different time and a different game now.

BigFatFan,
Thanks for the info. I still think SP should have done this a LONG time ago. SP has never really had hoss's on the line to play smash mouth football, and if we did we lacked depth. I still think this team may turn some heads, the way they stuck with M-Town last year is still in my mind.

Is it just me or is pretty much every school getting new uniforms?! Monrovia, Muir, Maranatha, La Salle, Pasadena, and St. Francis (new helmet decals).

But besides that, San Marino looked pretty good on Friday, even if it was against Gabrielino. SM has easily filled Scott Dooley's shoes with TWO running backs in senior Ben Hung who had two TDs and sophomore Kwame Do who had one in his first varsity game. Joe Forgatch has also improved vastly since filling in for an injured Steven Wright last year. It seems like SM is also willing to chuck the rock around a bit more, throwing 15 passes, compared to about 5 passes in their first game last year. Next week will be tough for the Titans but the return of Steve Yortsos will be a HUGE benefit. And I said before, the SM secondary is underestimated so watch out Novell!

I will roll with you Goledenarm...for now! I hope they know what they are doing...this is a talented bunch!!!!

GA , how do think muir will do this year?

By the way, Miguel, your blog picture would have warranted a good playground whoppping in dodgeball, butts up, or smear that guy.

Hey New York,

Our Taft/Bakersfield battles were epic. Hitting until the end of the whistle. Don't stand around a pile or run on special teams without your eyes open! I recall seeing a Monrovia/Diamond Bar game from that time era. What a game! Yes, Sally, those boys would have kicked your little Skylers, Camerons, (Whatever you name you kids nowadays)a$$e$ and taken their lunch money. It is all because they banned Dodgeball!

by the time league starts:

1 -Tip Sanders will have a team capable of winning games in the Montview. No easy accomplishment considering the ground zero he started on.

2- South El Monte will be lucky to have won 1 game.

3. Both San Marino and Monrovia will be undefeated.

4. Temple City's front line on defense and offense will get stronger and better.

5. Pasadena Bulldogs will re-emerge as players/team and earn a share of respect.

Reno,
the post-eating blog machine has my comments as well

Mid-Valley
very good questions and I pray the answers are coming as the season progresses. It looked as though the film review hurt us more than it helped us. We appeared to be rotating forward when Riviera threw his first TD, whether a misread, wrong key or whatever, I don't know.
We were made to pay quickly.

I give credit to Arroyo for their fight. I give a D- minus to the officiating, who watched Ruckle violently facemasked, his head spun 3/4 around, and called nothing. An F-grade is for 2 quarters - 3rd and 4th- where the entire ref crew choose to close their eyelids to the holds on our D lineman. Blatant and obvious. They did call a very questionable roughing the passer penalty though, as they apparently felt sorry for the abuse QB Riviera was taking. By the way, Riviera never complained, took the hits and stood in there, a great job by the kid all the way around. He is a very good QB.
Yes, we had 10 men on the field more than once, we had 12 men on the field as well. That said...still "In Chou I Trust"...we will adjust and get better. The "Hail Mary" should have never happened....TC should have retained the ball - for reasons mentioned in several posts

Don't get me wrong TC'ers - I am pissed, aggravated and frustrated, but I will not be throwing our staff under the silent bus that returned to TC on Friday. There is no benefit to anybody in doing so.
Let's support our boys - who played their asses off!

Congratulations to Arroyo.

Philly B,
Those Monrovia teams in the mid-to-late 1990's were a different breed than what is there now. That was Monrovia before the real estate boom and redevelopment. Back then we were just as interested in physically punishing the opponent as we were in winning games. If there wasn't enough violence during the game, we were more than happy to continue the party afterward...players and coaches alike.

I recently watched game film of the 1998 Monrovia vs. Gahr regular season game. WOW! I have not seen hitting like that in a long time. We may have better tacklers now but I dont see hitting like what happened then. It's possible that some hitting drills have been unofficially outlawed.

By the way, I would not put Santa Ynez on a pedastal. We beat them by over 50 points in a semi-final game at a time when Monrovia had 400 fewer students than we do now.

Our team now seems more business-like and, in my opinion, more likely to win big games. After a pony league baseball all-star game, one of my coaches addressed the team after we brawled with Norwalk. He said something along the lines of, "If you want to be brawlers, that's fine. But brawlers don't win ball games." That was and still is some good advice for players and coaches.

Satelite Surfing in Kern County

Monrovia is not the #1 team in the PSN, Saint Francis is. The Golden Knights play in a tougher league and higher division. Monrovia, as good as they are, beat an understandably unprepared Arcadia team and a depleted Duarte squad. Riley (rushing, receiving, defense), key supporting players, and the Knights depth make them 14 points better than the Wildcats. SF kicker put several kickoffs deep into the endzone and nailed a 45 yard FG before halftime the other night. Monrovia gets tested by a getting nasty Rosemead defense this week and faces a good offense in the San Dimas Wing T later.

Goldenarm, if "In Chou we trust" then you better buy Jerry a calculator so that the Rams can count to 11. Blame this, and all other problems, on the previous culture of Backus who never preached to "FINISH." Backus could count to 11 (10 fingers, 1 bald head). By the way Paraclete won again.

Did any Pacific League team win outside of CV? Nope. Arcadia needs the week off to regroup. Hoover and Glendale can't wait for the "Baklava Bowl."

Rumor has it that La Canada may practice and play this week. San Marino blasted Gabriel-lean-NO and still doesn't play anyone worth noting.

So I was looking at the divisions, and whats schools in what division, and honestly....Oaks Christian and Santa Ynez have no business in the Div. X, They should bump them up a division or two and put Monrovia,Rosemead,San Dimas, And T.C. in their. Why is La Salle in that Division?????

Whats up with the Blog Nazi? No blogs for you one year!Posted a great one! Miguel, please release me, let me go; for I don't love you anymore...

Heres whats Philly's Burning On:
Anonymous
If there is a spread to kick someones ass, I hope T.C. can figure it out in time for the showdown wit M-town. You say T.C. fast??? but as of late that hasnt been fast enough to even win league outright!!! T.C. always has a good squad but like I said in the comment you copied, it is because they are a power smashmouth running team. They havent really had speed since reed!! They had a lil speedy back in Tsai, but he was only successful because of that big offensive line. So I stay with my statement that I dont think the spread will work out for T.C at least this season. Maybe if the T.C. faithful give him at least 3seasons min.

GloucesterCoach,
and all others that want to compare stop it. Yes monrovia almost every year has a squad that will compete to win league. but there will be no team like the teams monrovia had in the 90's and 2002-03!!!! You just cant do that, its not fair to those teams in the past. The Mid-valley is way too weak. I Mean monrovia doesnt have to worry about paso robles, serra, Lompoc, Santa Clara I believe as well. CIF classifies this division as XI!!! Does monrovia have a real good chance of winning CIF, yeah they do, but when you want to compare this years team to the 99' team, i think that is just ridiculous because the competition in the playoffs was more difficult.

South Pas is running the spread too???? Im going to let thats go and see what happens.

Miguel are you going to make another prediction on San Marino if they go 5-0???? I hope not. They will compete, but they'll be lucky to get a playoff berth.

Monrovia's biggest challenge will be against San Dimas, they look like they have a real good squad this year.

GloucesterCoach: Smith is going to use the spread for the preseason and see if the team and QB can pick up the system sufficiently to make it competitive in league. I heard that Smith is making this change cuz his O-line is too small to play smashmouth football and pound the run game. so now the QB is running more, 50+ yards against SG is a good start. WRs need to learn how to block downfield in support of the spread option approach as the SG DBs were able to rush in and stop most option plays. The game against SG this week was very close until 4th quarter. We had SG staggering but could not finish them off.

I was at the TC-Arroyo game and on the sidelines at the end of it. My observations. We had the veteran OL, the All CIF RB... not Arroyo. We had tons of film on their systems & they had no film on anything our new staff was going to run. How doesn't that translate to a win? The ONLY success we had was when we went to an unbalanced power I. Of course we had some success, Arroyo had never seen us run it. We have never been an unbalanced power I team. We didn't coach to win late in the second half. 1st and goal from their 21yd line after they went for it on 4th down. We cant move the ball, dont even try, and end up with a 4th and long from about their 20. If we kick a fg we are up 6 with a minute to play or we run Max and hope he breaks it for 8yds. We called a qb sneak and give them the ball??? That was playing to win??? And defensively? Why on that 93 yard td play were we playing so tight? We looked like we were defending a short pass, when they needed a td? I didn't hear anyone telling the db's to take a PI on a deep pass. The clock was ours, the field position was ours. We could have taken 3 PI's and they wouldn't have been in position to score!

Agree with Donk that M. Alexander was a huge key to the victory over M'natha Friday and deserves a lot of credit. He's got great hands and makes catches in traffic, even when the ball is not right on the money. His two TDs gave LS the confidence they needed to come back and win. At this point, he's probably LS's single biggest offensive threat. But his performance was not surprising - he's obviously very talented. The good news from Friday night was that LS's young QB Novell was able to execute in the second half and get the ball to Alexander and Sanders in key situations, and they held on to the ball (in contrast to the M'natha receivers who at times seemed to grasping at a greased pig).

To add on Muddy's and Donk's comments -

I think Maranatha studied the La Salle game film from the Village Christian game, and felt if they stopped Carlos Morales, they would stop the La Salle offense. They also felt that if they rattled the sophomore QB, that would be what they needed.

In the second half, La Salle adjusted; they used play action (fakes to Morales) setting up the passing game, and used Morales as a decoy, which allowed Harmon to run for some large gains. La Salle wore out the Maranatha defense by controlling the ball. The La Salle defense functions as a unit (no single star; possibly Wells, who is all over the field)and gets the job done when it needs to get done. The O line is stronger, and more confident.

As La Salle as a whole gets more confident, Alexander's numbers will get bigger. What I am waiting for is for him to explode on a punt return; he has that capability.

I agree with Muddy's comments on the difference between this year and last year; the play calling is better, and coaching is more focused, and La Salle is controlling the lines, and the clock. I also think the big difference is attitude. In both games this year, La Salle was behind at some point. Last year, they would have thrown up the white flag, or expect Chase to lead them to the promised land. This season, they head back to the side line, and figure out a way to get it done.

San Marino will be a big test. Let's hope La Salle is back!!!

Was at the Rosemead game and I must say that they looked flat and the offense play calling was horrible. The quarterback looks like he has no business throwing the ball. They will be getting a serious reality check on Friday by the Wildcats. The only thing that looked decent was the defense but even that could be better. Matt Koffler needs to have those kids ready. Good luck!

I've heard a rumor that TC only had 10 players on the field for that last play. Can anyone confirm that? I also heard that TC had a sideline penalty that gave Arroyo a 1st down. I'm sure that never happened during Art Carrington's reign as "sideline control specialist".

Donk,

I would agree with your comments about Alexander’s receptions for La Salle. He looked solid and made some spectacular catches that definitely kept LSHS in the game. It is a long season and I think Alexander will continue to make great plays. The stats don’t lie and the kid is “money.” If Saunders matures, La Salle could have a stout one-two punch for receivers. You can also bank on M Wells being a big contributor on both sides of the ball. I also think Harmon made some stellar runs in the second half especially to keep the chains moving. Morales will get his runs also as the ball is spread around. Natha keyed on Morales helping free Harmon.

They take away one weapon, another emerges. There is nothing better than seeing a well run team. La Salle will need to improve each week in order to compete with the big boys like SM/TC & especially Monrovia. So far, they are off to a great start at 2-0.

So what is the difference between last year’s team and this year’s team? So far, the play calling is better and is taking advantage of the opportunities a “balanced” offensive attack will provide. The big boys on the line are able to bang in the trenches and control the line. Control the line of scrimmage and control the tempo of the game.

Nantha and La Salle would both lose to Muir and PHS though.

What was with the film crew at the La Salle/Maranatha game? I heard one rumor that Maranatha was filming a "documentary", and another rumor that they were filming a "recruiting video" (give that video to La Salle - it will help their "recruiting" more!!!)

I am sure Coach Murphy's meltdowns will be edited out of the final product -

@ watcher -

Bosco 35 - Blair 6

anyone got a blair score from today?

Golden,

Yours Rams played great the second half, they fought hard
and played to win. It will be a great game next Friday!

INFO:

Too little too late, Ruckle had less than 5 touches in the 1st half. TC's offense finally started moving the ball when they went into some crazy ass version of power and they ran the same play over and over and Arroyo made no adjustments. Then they get down inside the 20 and run bubble which ends up losing yards. Goldenarm I'm shocked at your lack of attention to this? Also, who was that playing safety...hmmmm...???

Ocho i dont know how good you are at math but 28 carries for ruckle and only 15 passes 3 to ruckle. looks like they ran the rock to me. MONROVIA LOOKS UNSTOPPABLE ROSEMEAD/MONROVIA HAS TO BE THE GAME OF THE WEEK

Okay I am sorry I have always been very courteous and respectful on this blog. It is completely a crime that Mike Alexander is not getting more credit for last nights game...I mean the kid took two passes that (I really like Novell, passes were a bit off, but nonetheless great for a sophmore)that could have been intercepted and took them for two touchdowns...It looked really bad for La Salle after the first half, but after Alexander made the first touchdown catch and the team was completely rejuvenated...I just can not believe this and will no longer be blogging, the kid practically won the game!!!

well said ocho.if you noticed last year the passes completed for the most part where on the run or broken plays. not sitting in the pocket. with a line like they have and runners like ruckle and gibson, run the rock!!!! throw occasionally to keep d's true. look at the frosh/j.v they run the rock they win!

Very, Very Quiet on this blog.. Well Monrovia can now look forward to playing Rosemead, should be a great game for both teams. De'Shawn Ramirez & Michael Harris show signs of greatness and should have an excellent opportunity to display more of their skills against a tough Rosemead "D". Ramirez is remarkably quick and has very good field judgement and having a running partner like Harris who has a toughness to him as well, will only make the Cats that much stronger as a team. Its hard to measure how much talent this Wildcat team really has until they go against the likes of a spirited Rosemead and San Dimas team. If last night's Duarte game was any indication of these two guys, There's no doubt that both have the opportunity to play on big time D1 Programs in three years. Tip Sanders does have his work cut out but in hiss favor he also has some very credible athletes that will make some noise in this coming season even with just fielding 18 players, so Montview league BEWARE! even at this point I think Tips team would beat Hoover, Blair, give several other teams in other leagues fits if taken for granted. Once again Bueno look very competent in his decision making and with these two backs doing most of the leg work he will have much more of an advantage in his passing game. Not looking backwards but I think that maybe for Monrovia it was a good thing that these two guys didn't participate in the Arcadia game, it allowed Coach Maddox an opportunity to work with back-up guys and to weed out some of our offensive weakness's. Just for measure, Number 1 is just a number, winning is forever!!!! Your team is only going to get better as time moves forward.

Where was temple city's defense? they gave up big plays all over the field? and spread offense? temple city is not a spread offense kinda place. we played smashmouth football when i was there and that is tc'c strength especially with a back like ruckle and a line like they have. plus they have a quarterback with no experience. Anthony White better no ruin all the things TC is known for. go with the bread and butter run the ball!!

IMO - the LS v. M game came down to superior game planning and execution. LS's turnaround in the second half was set up in large part by the conservative, pound-it-up-the-middle running attack they relied on in the first half to establish the run and soften up the M'natha D, and in no small part to the insertion of #5 Kishon Sanders at tight end and on defense (Sanders sat out the first half). Although the LS fans wanted to see more passing in the first half, it was smart to let the young QB Novell hand the ball off and use the pass only sparingly in the first half. Notwithstanding the fumble that led to M's only first half score, Novell played a solid game, connected with his receivers on big plays (including 2 TDs to Alexander and 1 to Sanders). With the run always a threat, M was forced to defend the run on every play, which left receivers with single coverage. And with Sanders giving blocking protection and running routes from the TE position, the LS offense had the advantage. Novell exploited this with solid execution, and LS took control. M's game plan, on the other hand, seemed to be to rely almost exclusively on their passing game. This allowed LS to drop into a zone pass defense and pick off or tip several passes. LS played solid D the whole game. Of those those passes that LS didn't get a hand on first, LOTs were dropped by M's receivers. This lack of execution in the passing game, and the one-dimentional nature of their game plan, cost M big.

A class post from a Knight....

Anonymous said:
As much as I hate TC. I respect Coach White and those Rams, we made the last play but you Could just see how Coach White got his team to come out the second half and pouf us. Coach white and TC don't Hang your head something tells me we will see you again! Go Knights

September 11, 2009 11:25 PM

There will be some sore Knights this morning because the Rams came to play. If there were signs of low effort from TC, it would not hurt as bad as it does....we had excellent effort. I hope we see Arroyo again.
stanton, sutton, gibson, nico, omalley, sanderson - great game

max, torres, smith, anda, paco, pultz.....good job!

a post I copied over :
Philly B said:
Temple City running the spread offense??????
I dont want to sound negative but Temple city is a power running team. They grind you out and get those short yardages with their big and strong offensive line. If you would say monrovia,duarte, Muir, pasadena, even blair for that matter were gonna run the spread offense, I'd say "that might work by mid-season" but T.C. is not known for their speed. I dont see this offense working out for T.C.

September 10, 2009 2:08 PM

Philly B knows football, period. We do have an upsurge of fast this year, however, fast is a relevant term. We are TC fast, not Muir fast. We came alive against Arroyo ONLY when we returned to who we are and began to physically challenge the Arroyo squad. If there is a such thing as a spread designed to kick someone's ass, lets do it. If it is designed to out run or run past anybody, take the playbook and torch it.

miguel / psn

posts are not coming up

the blog editor has my comment.

La Salle - great win and fine work by the Lancer coaching staff and players.

ARROYO/TC -HOW IT STARTED - QB Riviera's first throw...total perfection and accuracy, tight spiral and in stride to a kid who had beaten TC coverage...6 pts.
Arroyo kicks it back to TC, Ruckle catches it and our Wedge buries Arroyo....6pts. Elapsed time: about 1 minute. Score 7-7
MIDDLE GROUND...before half
TC stayed in the spread and floundered, Arroyo controlled the 2nd quarter. TC fooled and lost contain on double reverse 6 pts Arroyo. With time elapsing to half TC began marching downfield...with 6 seconds we ran a beautiful sideline pattern, completed throw to set up a FG attempt. Tinsley booted through at 40 yds with 10 yds to spare- exceptional football TC coaches!
HOW IT ENDED
We are a physical football team and that is where our success begins and ends. In the 2nd half we grabbed the lead and our defensive line was destroying the very good O line of Arroyo. Riviera was sacked, pounded and stuffed to the ground repeatedly, while Arroyo lineman were tackling, holding and grabbing anything they could to prevent it, The refs watched the holds, threw no flags. From the Arroyo 7, 14 seconds ticking down, Riviera launched a desperation throw high into the air, two players watched the ball hang in the night air, a Knight caught the ball, while the TC player looked concerned on avoiding a pass interference flag...

Alhambra must be dreaming about attacking our secondary and having nightmares about how to protect Cazzarin. The Rams had better be ready for more of the same. The On the ground the Moors will be looking to sweep and go outside - in the air to throw middle deep, slant and crossing patterns.
I need pain medication.

Nice Pick Miguel,

The Game Of The Week Did Not Disappoint! Any word on how many in attendance? It looked close to 2,800-3,000+ people maybe? So much for this not being worthy of the GOTW. My vote: The Rose Bowl, PCC, or ELAC with the replay screen.

No worries Natha. Natha has a solid team and once in league they will dominate again. LSHS finally figured out a way to get Natha out of its Blitz package. After that, La Salle took control. Much to talk about but I will wait for a story on the game so as to not ramble on here. GOTW story?

Many well wishes to players from both teams. There was plenty of hitting and the players showed much class. The Natha coach? I will leave that for another day.

Great game out at Arroyo...

In a brewing rivalry between Arroyo and Temple City, each team had a bit to prove.
Arroyo was led by Sophomore quarterback Steven Rivera who finished the night with 242 yards through the air and three touchdowns. Rivera hit Chris Rodriguez for a 75-yard touchdown on the very first play to put Arroyo up 7-0.
Temple City countered with senior running back Max Ruckle returning the ensuing kickoff for a score and pulling his Rams even, 7-7.
Arroyo renewed its Rivera-Rodriguez connection the very next drive as the two combined on a 17 yarder to put Arroyo back up 14-7.
In the second, Arroyo put the ball again in the hands of its best playmaker Chris Rodriguez on a reverse, and Rodriguez scampered 35 yards for a 21-7 lead.
Temple City was unveiling its highly speculated spread offense under new head coach Anthony White. To end the first half, Temple City went back to its traditional smashmouth, running routes and got the ball to Ruckle. They would convert a 39-yard field goal to end the half down 21-10.
The opening drive of the second half spanned 65 yards on 12 plays capped off by a Ruckle five yard rumble. Ruckle had 55 yards on the ground on the drive.
The tide of the game began to turn once Temple City established their running identity. They were able to control the clock as well as move the chains. With just under ten minutes left in the fourth, Temple City scored its second TD of the half on a Ruckle fumble in the endzone recovered by lineman Justin Sutton.
With their first lead of the game, the defense continued to give the young Rivera fits.
Rivera, a sophomore, had some second half struggles. Sacked a total of four times in the second half.
With time running out, Rivera was sacked at his own seven yard line. On third and 18 from their own seven, Rivera launched a ball 50 yards through the air where Rodriguez came down with the catch on a jump-ball and spun around scampering the rest of the 93 yards for the incredible winning score with 14 seconds left to play. Arroyo's sophomore sensation showed some incredible talent early on, but it was his poise with the game on the line that was most impressive.
Arroyo head coach Jim Singiser said, “Spectacular. My quarterback just made a play; the guy we’ve been going to all night made a play.” Speaking about his young quarterback, “You forget that he’s just a sophomore; he showed a lot of poise when, really, the line was suspect.”
Temple City’s new head coach Anthony White said, “IT always hurts to lose but we got better. It’s pre-season and we’re trying to get better; it’s my job to get this team ready for the Rio Hondo league and playoffs.” Regarding the adjustments to the offense, White said, “We gotta put the ball in our best player’s hands. Max Ruckle did a great job. We just gotta be tough, “ continuing “We just gotta be tough; when I came to Temple City I wanted to make this the toughest team in the Valley and I think we accomplished some of that tonight.”

KEY STATS:
Arroyo:
Rivera 9-21 262yd 3td
Rodriguez 4rec. 194yds 3rec td, 1rush td

Temple City:
Ruckle 28car 167rush yds 1rush td, 1ret TD, 3rec 71yds
QB Justin Smith 12-15 88yds
OL/DL Justin Sutton 3sacks 1fum rec TD

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Feel free to add me on Facebook if you would like.. Tyler Drohan, thanks! And see you at the game!

FB Einstein
Because of your rant I took the .45 round out of the chamber and uncoiled the noose in the garage, thanks.
It was a rollercoaster of extreme highs and devastating lows - I almost wish I was not there. I don't know where to begin, so I will start with some good things, because I need some good things right now.

Ram players - outstanding effort, you never quit!
Arroyo players - outstanding effort, you never quit!
Knight lineman #75 - I hope the best on your leg injury, may it be a minor one.

COACHING STAFF- White and crew are taking cheap shots and insults already, and yes, mistakes were made. BUT, THESE COACHES DID A GREAT JOB GETTING OUR KIDS READY TO PLAY. One Hail Mary pass kept us from a big opening win against a very good team. I fully support the preparation and work they have done.

DID YOU SEE THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR DEFENSIVE LINE IN THE 2ND HALF!! The reality is on nearly every pass play in the 4th quarter all Arroyo could do was HOLD....and the refs stood there and watched it right in front of them. Blatant obvious holds....and still the Ram D lineman broke through and pounded Rivera again and again. Refs - can you give me and the Temple City supporters any reason why you did not call holding infractions as they occurred right in front of you??

The refs did call a sideline violation on the Rams (Carrington, come back)and not surprisingly, the call came on a huge Ram first down, nullifying the play. Several penalty calls crushed the Rams, with unacceptable crap like 12 men on the field, missing players not on the field, plays brought in too late resulting in wasted time outs or delay of game penalties. If on week 4 this is still happening, I will join in ragging our staff endlessly - BUT IT IS WEEK ONE.
For 3 months I have been saying Arroyo will attack us with the deep ball....sometimes knowing makes things worse.

Did I read that SG vs. SP article correctly...SP is running a spread now? As a Tiger alum I'm pretty surprised, but am excited to hear that. I played under Coach Smith and the perception of him is that he is old school, and wouldn't change his ways. Over the years he has done things to prove that perception wrong. I'm a big Coach Smith fan, so good luck Chief! Does anyone know if this will be a permanent thing or a utilization of our QB's talent for the next couple of years?

NY, and other M-Town fans....sounds and looks like you guys are legit this year. Do you think this is finally the year you can win a CIF Championship? This team sounds as good as the 99 team.

Babb,

Wrong on both of your predictioncs. Right now, I don't think Maranatha would beat Salesian!

MM, i am going to the St. Genevieve vs. Flintridge Prep game. There's is no way FP will pull off a W against ST. G. St G is coached by former position coach from Marshall and Harvard, Scot Ruggles. He is also an actor who was featured in a dunkin donuts commercial with the new england Pats. St G use to be horrible, but in his 1st year last year, he revived the program and they went all the way to the CIF semi finals. I predict that St G will play Rio Hondo Prep in the CIF final game this year. St G is very heavy senior based. FP is somewhat rebuilding this year.

Winning football games comes down to one main criteria --EXECUTION! La Salle did just that in the second half...Maranatha didn't. Simple as that! After an anemic first two quarters, I have to give huge kudos to the Lancers for executing an "about-face" for Qtr's 3 & 4 ! They were a completely different team, and they EXECUTED their game plan both in the run and pass.

A few notes--

--Nice game by MHS's Jebbia on Both O and D! Beautiful fumble recovery TD run!

--Minutemen punting was tremendously better than last week!

--The Fullback for La Salle? -- Kid's a stud! Nice game.
And nice running by Morales.

--Questionable playcalling re: the insert of Beckwith at qb and Keith as receiver. I understand the logic w/ Keith's height advantage, but stick w/ your main plan! Injuries are plaguing our Minutemen...why risk your QB? BTW...that pass attempt looked like a desparate "Hail Mary". (No pun intended La Salle...sorry!)

--You can't discredit Keith on his passing game! Most of his throws were on the money. I lost count on how many were dropped.

Regardless of the outcome, it was great to see the huge crowds and the spirit in the air. PHS & Muir have their tradtional "Turkey" rivalry. It's fun seeing these two cross town rivals developing their own!

To the "Natha Nation"...I'm goin to say it again...Cody Keith can not be successful under pressure and you bloggers can't be giving excuses anymore about how the O-line doesn't give him enough time...All I got to say now is that there going to get run up by bakersfield christian this upcoming week...I wouln't be surprise if they lose to kilpatrick!.......OVERATED!!

Ok Goldenarm...I know its only 1 game so I'm going to be nice and not panic...let’s look at the facts...First half, 3 offensive possessions and 3 punts with Ruckle touching the ball maybe 3 times (except for his 90 yard kick-off return for a touchdown). That first half was completely controlled by Arroyo. TC giving up big plays on defense and NO FU&%$#ing running game!! We where lucky to be down 21-10 at half!! Did Mooney or Loya start calling the plays after halftime and then leave with 2 minutes to go??? For the next 2.98 quarters we got back to what these kids do best...RUN THE BALL!! Two drives...2 touchdowns...AND THE LEAD!! Meanwhile, the defense is OFF THE FIELD, NOT GIVING UP TOUCHDOWNS!! My worst fear came true when it was 3rd down from Arroyo's 20 yard line with less than 2 min...we have the ball...game in hand...and after running the ball from the same formation 100x in-a-row what do I see...? 4 FU&%$#ing receivers and a sorry ass bubble screen!! I thought this was the best coaching staff in the SGV!!?? What say you G.A...?

!!!FEAR THE MEAD!!! !!!WAR PANTHERS!!!

Great game out at Arroyo...

In a brewing rivalry between Arroyo and Temple City, each team had a bit to prove.
Arroyo was led by Sophomore quarterback Steven Rivera who finished the night with 242 yards through the air and three touchdowns. Rivera hit Chris Rodrigiuez for a 75-yard touchdown on the very first play to put Arroyo up 7-0.
Temple City countered with senior running back Max Ruckle returning the ensuing kickoff for a score and plling his Rams even, 7-7.
Arroyo renewed its Rivera-Rodriguez connection the very next drive as the two combined on a 17 yarder to put Arroyo back up 14-7.
In the second, Arroyo put the ball again in the hands of its best playmaker Chris Rodriguez on a reverse, and Rodriguez scampered 35 yards for a 21-7 lead.
Temple City was unveiling its highly speculated spread offense under new head coach Anthony White. To end the first half, Temple City went back to its traditional smashmouth, running routes and got the ball to Ruckle. They would convert a 39-yard field goal to end the half down 21-10.
The opening drive of the second half spanned 65 yards on 12 plays capped off by a Ruckle five yard rumble. Ruckle had 55 yards on the ground on the drive.
The tide of the game began to turn once Temple City established their running identity. They were able to control the clock as well as move the chains. With just under ten minutes left in the fourth, Temple City scored its second TD of the half on a Ruckle fumble in the endzone recovered by lineman Justin Sutton.
With their first lead of the game, the defense continued to give the young Rivera fits.
Rivera, a sophomore, had some second half struggles. Sacked a total of four times in the second half.
With time running out, Rivera was sacked at his own seven yard line. On third and 18 from their own seven, Rivera launched a ball 50 yards through the air where Rodriguez came down with the catch on a jump-ball and spun around scampering the rest of the 93 yards for the incredible winning score with 14 seconds left to play. Arroyo's sophomore sensation showed some incredible talent early on, but it was his poise with the game on the line that was most impressive.

KEY STATS:
Arroyo:
Rivera 9-21 262yd 3td
Rodriguez 4rec. 194yds 3rec td, 1rush td

Temple City:
Ruckle 28car 167rush yds 1rush td, 1ret TD, 3rec 71yds
QB Justin Smith 12-15 88yds
OL/DL Justin Sutton 3sacks 1fum rec TD

What direction?

I just read on an OC newspaper that a player from Garden Grove HS died on the field tonight from an injury. I am very sad to hear that and my hear goes out to his family.

I just read in an OC newspaper that a high school football player from Garden Grove HS died from an injury on the field near the end of the game. I am sorry to hear that and my hear goes out to his family.

Overtime/Tie Breaker Final

Chaminade 17
Burbank 14

Bottom Line - La Salle made adjustments in the second half, and got the job done when they needed to get it done.

To the Natha Nation - we La Salle fans have a LOT of experience from last season with a one dimensional offense built around a QB with the sole purpose of getting that QB a D-1 scholarship. Watching Maranatha play this year is like deja vu. Make the changes you need to so that you can play and win as a TEAM.

PHS defense played hard and kept the game close. The offense improved from last week. Its an encouraging sign for the program. Oh BTW, here another final score****

Oaks Christian 51, Muir 0
Nick Montana threw four touchdown passes. Malcolm Jones caught a touchdown and ran for another. Trevor Gretzky threw two touchdown passes.

Congratulations La Salle on your 21 to 14 win tonight. No excesses on this end. We should have taken a 21 to 0 lead into halftime but couldn’t get it done. Enjoy your victory and see you next year for the rubber match

king-

if u say the late hit put on his reciever you would understand why u was frustrated.
mintuemen just couldnt connect. drop balls and everything. good thing they are getting this out before league and bakersfield christian.

In my opinion this game lived up to GOTW! La Salle came out slow, well both teams did. They couldn't get in much of an offensive rhythm. The second half was a total different story. They finally got the passing game working, M. Alexander had another huge game, 2TDS!!! It'll be interesting to hear some of the excuses that Natha come up with. Someone also needs to talk to that head coach about respect for the game and the refs. I understand that you get fired up, but come one throwing your play sheet, your head set, and getting in the ear of the refs all the way at the hash mark? uncalled for....this is a great rivalry in the making. good luck to both teams the remainder of the season!

GA:

That cloud circumnavigated. You might need some air.

Well babbb... Neither team got "smashed". LaSalle wins 21 to 14. LasSalle didn't score until 3rd Q. but rallied to win the game. Some of the calls, well, it's over. It's gonna be a good season. Fight on, Minutemen!

Redemption! La Salle 21 Maranatha 14.
1st half was shakey for both teams - Maranatha scored a defensive TD on a LS fumble, but otherwise both teams struggled offensively. Second half was all La Salle (three straight TDs and a missed FG) until late in the 4th when the Minutemen scored their only offensive points. Congratulations to Coach Peterson and the Lancer players, who have worked so hard for this night. Two games, two Ws. Great start! Now here's hoping the team can build on this and get some more Ws. Go Lancers!

Marshall will beat Salesian. Maranantha will smash on La Salle. Go Minutemen!!!

MM,

Add-ons:

Saugus over the dogs

Workman over Keppel

Poly over SI

St. G's over Flintridge Prep