Cross Country: Arcadia boys best in school history? Yup

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer

A sweep of the Laguna Hills Invitational. A third-place finish in the sweepstakes division at the Woodbridge Invitational. The Stanford Invitational coming up, a No. 2 ranking in a CIF-Southern Section Division I cross country poll this week, and a No. 4 ranking in one national poll.

These are heady times for the Arcadia High School boys team.

But running among the elite in invitationals and polls do not get teams to the CIF State Meet in November.

Winning league titles does.

That’s where the Apaches start at 3:15 p.m. today in Arcadia County Park when the Pacific League holds its first cluster meet.

Fortunately, Arcadia coach Jim O’Brien said, this Apaches team may be the best in school history.

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Volleyball: Anticipation building for LC/FSHA showdown

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS
Compiled by Keith Lair

1. La Caada (4-2)
Royal Tournament up next

2. Flintridge S.H. (6-2)
Showdown with LC next week

3. Mayfield (3-3)
Showed signs against LC

4. Arcadia (5-1)
Second in own tournament

5. Maranatha (5-0)
Beat La Salle, Monrovia

6. Gabrielino (10-2)
Big nonleague matches ahead

7. Monrovia (5-2)
Third in Arcadia Tournament

8. Pasadena Poly (2-0)
Prep League play begins

9. Alverno (3-0)
Starting crazy part of season

10. Flintridge Prep (3-0)
Time to get tested

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Friday Night Postgame: Monrovia unstoppable; Marshall snaps 31-game losing streak; Alhambra, San Marino, St. Francis, Pasadena, La Caada and Bosco Tech earn win

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF FRIDAY’S ROSEMEAD-MONROVIA GAME

Well, what can I say? I should have gone with ‘Rovia but I didn’t. The Wildcats are just unstoppable, and they proved as much in an emphatic 33-7 win over Rosemead in nonleague action Friday night. Nick Bueno did his thing, rushing for 107 yards on 13 carries. He scored one touchdown. Derrick Johnson joined in on the fun with three TD’s, and the Wildcats defense played stellar in the near shutout. Rosemead virtually self destructed after turning the ball over and committing costly penalties. Monrovia also was stymied by penalties, which negated two scores, including a 61-yard touchdown run by De’Shawn Ramirez. Monrovia coach Ryan Maddox, however, wasn’t so much concerned about that as he was about Charlie Cimmarusti, who was carried off the field after breaking his right knee cap in the second quarter.

Rosemead coach Matt Koffler talked about how the Panthers (0-2) were going to have to stop Nick Bueno if they were to come away with a win, but that certainly didn’t happen. Monrovia went on to avenge its 16-6 defeat to Rosemead in last year’s semifinals of the Mid-Valley Division playoffs. Monrovia will get another chance to make a statement when it hosts San Dimas next week.

In other news, Marshall snapped its 31-game losing streak. Marshall coach Rickey Pickens said there were plenty of seats still available at the beginning of the game against Pasadena Poly. But word soon spread of the Eagles’ lead and by the fourth quarter the entire school was in the home stands to watch Marshall beat Pas Poly, 36-24. Alhambra needed a late rally and a Vailele Peko interception with under 1:30 left in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the Moors. Pasadena and La Caada had impressive victories. Everyone had the Bulldogs pegged in a blowout loss but it was anything but. What an emotional win for the Spartans. First, the fires cancel their fall practices, then their gym is designated an evacuation center, their scrimmage is canceled as is their season opener vs. Alhambra, only to go on and rout a revamped Glendale team. Impressive, Mr. Yoder.

TONIGHT’S SCORES
Monrovia 33, Rosemead 7
Alhambra 17, Temple City 14
San Marino 35, La Salle 13
Marshall 36, Pasadena Poly 24
St. Francis 28, Crescenta Valley 21
Hoover 16, South Pasadena 13
La Caada 35, Glendale 0
Bosco Tech 23, Gladstone 19
Pasadena 19, Long Beach Jordan 16
Gabrielino 20, Keppel 17

Friday night’s record: 3-6

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Thursday Postgame: San Gabriel, Muir routed; Rio Hondo Prep takes care of business, Duarte doesn’t

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF THURSDAY’S SAN GABRIEL-BURBANK GAME

San Gabriel not only had trouble getting into an offensive rhythm, but they couldn’t control the ball, committed costly penalties and lack of execution stymied them in the first half. Burbank led 14-0 at the half and piled it on in the third quarter en route to a 40-28 win Thursday night at Burroughs High. But you have to give the Matadors (1-2) some credit: They didn’t go down without a fight. In fact, Isaac Valdez led the second half effort and finished the night completing 20 of 38 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Mark Covarrubias was one of the few bright spots for the Matadors. He caught seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. As if the injury bug hadn’t already taken a huge bite out of San Gabriel, there’s some uncertainty as to what will be of senior running back Fabian Amaro who left midway through the fourth quarter with a neck strain. San Gabriel’s already without Alex Lopez, Arthur Brown and Steven Park. They should be ready come Almont League play. I have to imagine this game was hardest on Lopez who was hooting and hollering almost the entire game until there was no clear sight of a late comeback. Someone suggested to me that San Gabriel perhaps is overrated, but don’t slap that tag just yet. Sanchez himself at 6-3, 195 pounds would be a huge target for Valdez, as would be Brown and Park. This team could look very different and much improved come Almont League action. But there is no sugar coating this one. San Gabriel got beat hard. Burbank took a 14-0 lead at the half and there was no stopping QB Adam Colman, who competed 12 of 16 passes for 222 yards and five (yes, five!) touchdowns. His final four passes were touchdowns from 10, 60, 39 and 34 yards out. Leo Rodas was also a force on the ground for the Bulldogs (2-1). He rushed for 122 yards on 16 carries. “I just didn’t like the way we played,” San Gabriel coach Keith Jones said. “We told the kids we knew exactly what was going to come and they just didn’t perform. “We’re just not meshing very well all the way around. It wasn’t a good game. “I appreciate the fact the kids battled back late, but it’s not satisfying to me.” On a personal note I have one thing to gripe about. I arrived at Burroughs High at 6 p.m. knowing parking might be limited. I finally found a spot on the street and close to the visitors exit. But some Burbank dude was awesome enough to stand in the empty spot (big enough for two cars) and blatantly said “This spot’s taken” … Since when can someone just stand there and say the spot’s taken? I was close to putting the car in reverse and parallel park anyway, but dude in the blue polo shirt wasn’t worth my precious time. Real classy, dude.

CLICK HERE FOR QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SCORES

THURSDAY’S SCORES
Burbank 40, San Gabriel 20
Venice 49, Muir 14
Rio Hondo Prep 23, Brentwood 13
Pomona 29, Duarte 0

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…….Star Picks……Now that’s more like it…..

Sorry for the no-post on Monday. On the brighter side, yours truly improved immensely last week, going 12-2. I’m torn this week. No doubt the Rosemead-Monrovia game is the PSN’s Game of the Week, but there is no way to really tell who will win this game. As a result, I’m going to withhold my pick until Friday morning. On one hand, I want to pick Monrovia because they just seem to have more athletes at key positions, including Nick Bueno at quarterback and De’Shawn Ramirez at running back. What makes the Wildcats so attractive this season is their ability to wear down teams with a deep backfield. Yes, Ramirez rushed for 121 yards but it came against a depleted Duarte squad. Still, 121 yards rushing only five carries is pretty damn impressive. Then there’s Rosemead. How can you not pick them after showing they’re still the real deal and the reigning runner-up from last year’s Mid-Valley Division playoffs. For the ninth straight season, Rosemead coach Matt Koffler could have a 1,000-yard rusher. They showed their grit and determination in a “stunning” win over Covina last week, a much tougher opponent than Duarte. You make the call, pick the winner of the Game of the Week. I bet it’s not as easy as it looks. For the record, I have confirmed the Venice-Muir game will be played Thursday, not Friday.

The Stang Fan:Last week (Total): ??
Melendez: Last week (Total): 12-2 (16-8)

GAME OF THE WEEK

ROSEMEAD (1-0) at MONROVIA (2-0), 7 p.m.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
(All games 7 p.m. unless noted)

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Burbank vs. San Gabriel at Burroughs — Melendez (San Gabriel)
Venice at Muir — Melendez (Muir)
Brentwood at Rio Hondo Prep, 7:30 p.m. — Melendez (Brentwood)
Duarte vs. Pomona at Ganesha — Melendez (Duarte)

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Rosemead at Monrovia — Melendez (???)
Alhambra at Temple City — Melendez (Alhambra)
La Salle at San Marino — Melendez (La Salle)
Pasadena Poly at Marshall, 4 p.m. — Melendez (Poly)
Crescenta Valley at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m. — Melendez (St. Francis)
Hoover at South Pasadena — Melendez (South Pasadena)
La Caada at Glendale — Melendez (Glendale)
Bosco Tech vs. Gladstone at Citrus College — Melendez (Bosco Tech)
Pasadena at Long Beach Jordan — Melendez (Long Beach Jordan)
Gabrielino at Keppel — Melendez (Keppel)

SATURDAY’S GAME
Flintridge Prep at Villanova Prep, 2:30 p.m. — Melendez (Villanova Prep)

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