March 2010 Archives
2010 APACHE INVITATIONAL (April 3-7)
Pool A: Arcadia, San Dimas, La Salle, California
Pool B: Temple City, Glendora, St. Francis, University
SATURDAY'S GAMES
Temple City vs. St. Francis, 10 a.m.
La Salle vs. California, 1 p.m.
Glendora vs. University, 4 p.m.
San Dimas vs. Arcadia, 7 p.m.
APRIL 5
San Dimas vs. La Salle, 10 a.m.
Glendora vs. Temple City, 1 p.m.
St. Francis vs. University, 4 p.m.
Arcadia vs. California, 7 p.m.
APRIL 6
University vs. Temple City, 10 a.m.
St. Francis vs. Glendora, 1 p.m.
California vs. San Dimas, 4 p.m.
La Salle vs. Arcadia, 7 p.m.
All games at Arcadia High; championship game April 7 at 7 p.m.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A GLOSSY REPRINT OF THE ALL-AREA TEAM
STAR-NEWS GIRLS SOCCER ALL-AREA
FIRST TEAM
Forward:
Forward:
Defender:
SECOND TEAM
Forward:
Midfielder:
Midfielder:
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Continue reading Girls Soccer All-Area: Breeana Koemans earns honors.
Above: Arcadia's Jon Larson slides safely into second base as Pasadena's Chris Klein can't handle the ball during a Pacific League game last year. The teams won't meet until April 23.
STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
1. St. Francis (6-4)
2. Alhambra (9-1)
3. Monrovia (10-1)
4. Pasadena (7-2)
5. Arcadia (6-2)
6. Maranatha (4-6)
7. Pasadena Poly (5-2)
8. Temple City (4-5)
9. La Salle (5-5)
10. San Marino (6-5)
STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
1. La Cañada (8-2)
2. San Marino (8-4)
3. Monrovia (8-2)
4. La Salle (9-3)
5. Mayfield (5-3)
6. San Gabriel Mission (8-1)
7. South Pasadena (4-6)
8. Maranatha (4-5)
9. Ramona Convent (7-2)
10. Temple City (6-7)
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A GLOSSY REPRINT SHEET OF THE ALL-AREA TEAM
STAR-NEWS BOYS SOCCER ALL-AREA
Coach of the Year: Barry Ritson, La Cañada, First year
Player of the Year: Matthew Cannata, La Cañada, Jr.
FIRST TEAM
Forward: Cameron Meeker, La Cañada, Jr.
Forward: Mathias Ibañez, Monrovia, Sr.
Forward: Victor Lugo, Muir, Sr.
Midfielder: Omar Reyes, Pasadena, Sr.
Midfielder: James Evans, Maranatha, Sr.
Midfielder: Dante Ramunno, St. Francis, Sr.;
Defender: Max Cadena, St. Francis, Sr.
Defender: Matthew Diephius, Pasadena Poly, Sr.
Defender: Diego Ruano, La Cañada, Sr.
Defender: Ryan Upton, La Cañada, Sr.
Goalkeeper: Matt Morrish, Pasadena Poly, Sr.
(Click on thread to continue with Second-Team and story)
Continue reading Boys Soccer All-Area: Season of domination for Cannata.
St. Francis (6-4, 0-2) lost 13-3 and 1-0 to Crespi in the Mission League opener last week. The top-ranked Knights also lost to Saugus and Crescenta Valley the previoius week, bringing their losing streak to four. Not exactly what I anticipated after St. Francis breezed through the Elks Tournament. We'll get another chance at St. Francis taking on local talent when it takes part of the Apache Invitational next week, but for now it's not only about winning to stay atop the rankings, but also about proving it can compete in the Mission. The first score was lopsided, and the Knights bounced back (?) with a respectable 1-0 loss. Did we mention St. Francis lost to Saugus (7-3) and Crescenta Valley (3-3)? Does this mean St. Francis will be dethroned come Tuesday afternoon when the rankings are posted on the blog? To be fair, St. Francis lost to a Crespi team ranked No. 1 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 coaches' poll. But did we mention they lost to Saugus and Crescenta Valley? The only teams that have a chance at taking the top spot is Monrovia (10-1, 4-0) and Alhambra (9-1, 3-0). I know, St. Francis beat both Monrovia (8-3) and Alhambra (9-1) in the Elks Tournament, but is that enough to claim the title of "Best Area Team"? Perhaps. But since the Elks Tournament, St. Francis, as mentioned before, is on a four-game losing streak, while the Wildcats are on a seven-game winning streak and the Moors on a five-game winning streak. Reason enough for one of the teams to takeover the No. 1 spot? Perhaps. But who?
Sure, La Cañada had a hiccup early last week but bounced back nicely with a solid win over South Pasadena under the lights. There's no argument in removing La Cañada from the No. 1 spot when the new rankings are released Wednesday (posted Tuesday afternoon here). But what about the rest of the teams? Will San Marino give La Cañada a run for its money? Also, what games would you like to see covered this week?
The Star-News Winter All-Area teams will be released this week and early next week, the dates are as follows below. Also, the date for the annual Tribune/Star News All-Star basketball Classic, which matches the boys and girls senior all-stars from the Tribune against the Star-News is still being finalized by tournament organizer Gordon Hamlow.
ALL-AREA PUBLICATION DATES
Boys Soccer, Tuesday, March 30
Girls Soccer, Wednesday, March 31
Girls Water Polo, Thursday, April 1
Wrestling, Friday, April 2
Girls Basketball, Tuesday, April 6
Boys Basketball, Wednesday, April 7
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF FRIDAY'S MONROVIA-TEMPLE CITY GAME
Monrovia's bats came alive in the seventh, that's when Adrian Velasco connected on a 1-1 pitch for a 3-run home run to give the Wildcats a 5-2 win over Temple City in Rio Hondo League play Thursday afternoon. Monrovia's Nick Bueno went 3 for 4 and Aaron Murphee pitched six solid innings for his fifth win of the season. Temple City's Calvin Copping was solid as well. He struck out six and made it difficult for the Wildcats (10-1, 4-0) at the plate. "I'm going to give credit to their kid," Monrovia co-head coach Brad Blackmore said. "He pitched great. It was not a very good offensive day for us. We had some horrendous at-bats in the first few innings. I thought we were taking good swings as the game went on, but early in the game we were clueless." Bueno made a diving stop at second to help record the first out and Jairo Jiorge made a spectacular stop on a liner down the third base line to give Temple City (4-4, 2-1) two quick outs on what seemed like sure hits. "To make two very good plays to start the game I think gives your pitcher good confidence that he can pitch the contact all day and not let guys hit," Blackmore said. Temple City couldn't find what it was looking for at the plate. "The whole game the one hit we needed we didn't get," Temple City coach Barry Bacon said. "I told the kids, 'We need back-to-back hits' and we didn't get them."
Think about it ... Monrovia (7-2, 2-1) gave up seven runs in the first inning against South Pasadena in the Rio Hondo League opener last week. The Wildcats also committed six errors in that inning. "We just looked flat," Monrovia coach Randy Medina said. "They were mad." And why wouldn't they be mad considering how the game ended. Monrovia settled down and gave up only one run the rest of the game, and the Wildcats scored two runs. Take away those seven runs in the first and Monrovia wins, 2-1 instead of losing, 8-2. "That was a game we look back and say 'That's an inning we're not going to duplicate again,'" Medina said. "That's not us. It's so uncharacteristic of what we've done." Monrovia shook up the Rio Hondo League when it stunned top-ranked La Canada, 2-0, on Tuesday. The Wildcats went with pitcher Cori Williams for the third time in five days. She helped Monrovia to back-to-back wins over South Pasadena on Monday and Tuesday against La Canada (7-1, 1-1), the top-ranked team in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 poll. Monrovia's stunner started in the fourth inning when Nikki Guzman drew a walk. Kelli Eggleston pinch ran and was waved home after Brooke Cowell's double to right. The throw home was bobbled, giving more than enough time for Eggleston to touch the plate and break a scoreless tie. Cowell took off to third on the play, but the throw bounced into left field, allowing Cowell to score and make it 2-0. Schae Simpson, who relieved Williams in the sixth, got into a jam when she walked La Canada's Anna Edwards to load the bases. But the threat ended when Simpson got the next batter to ground out to the shortstop and seal the upset. "Working to have a consistent game," Monrovia coach Randy Medina said. "It was what the girls have been wanting. "We're excited about the opportunities that this win will open up for us."
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF WEDNESDAY'S ARROYO-GABRIELINO GAME
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
SAN GABRIEL - Mark Roche threw his glove in disgust as he walked into the visiting dugout.
The Arroyo High School pitcher had just given up back-to-back singles to Gabrielino in the fourth inning on Wednesday. The first, by Vince Albelo, tied the Mission Valley League game.
"Our pitcher had a little sore arm there, so we kind of had to make the change," Arroyo coach D.J. MacKinnon said. "That wasn't the plan. It's early in the year. We don't want to do anything that's going to prolong the injury. There are a lot more games to be played."
Roche's arm was not sore at the beginning of the game, MacKinnon said, and when the switch was made his arm didn't appear to be sore. It appeared as if MacKinnon was just being safe by sending David Guerrero to the mound in replacing a battling pitcher.
Guerrero induced John Moreno to hit the ball in the infield for an apparent third out. But third baseman Roman Davales' throw was high and Albelo scored from second base to break the tie.
Sophomore Brendan Campbell then hit a two-run triple and Gabrielino escaped with a 6-4 victory. The Eagles, the three-time reigning league champions, avoided an 0-2 start in league play.
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In just the last few years, it seems like Keppel's made some pretty good hires. First, it started with football coach Bobby Madrid taking the reigns, and now it's a young but enthusiastic Houston Hernandez, 25, in charge of turning around the struggling Aztecs. The former St. Paul star is looking to inject some stability and tradition to a program that's won only seven of its last 100 games...
By Andrew J. Campa, Staff Writer
ALHAMBRA - At 25 years of age, new Mark Keppel High School baseball coach Houston Hernandez is full of zest and zeal.
The La Mirada native resides in a city where baseball is big and played at a high school in St. Paul, where excellence was not an elective.
"We always expected to be in the mix at St. Paul," said Hernandez, a 2002 alumnus. "We had a streak of something like 20 years of finishing with a better than .500 record.
"How many schools can say that?"
Hernandez reached the postseason all three of his varsity years and even helped the Swordsmen split the Del Rey League title with Bishop Amat in 2000.
His younger brother Estevan Hernandez is a former Whittier Daily News Player of the Year at catcher while his sister Vanessa Hernandez was a solid softball outfielder.
All this makes Hernandez's choice for his first head coaching job at Keppel somewhat curious.
The Aztecs have struggled lately as Hernandez is the program's third coach in six years.
Over the last five years, the Aztecs played 100 games and won seven.
During that same time, Keppel has triumphed in 2 of 75 Almont League contests.
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Aram Tolegian put out his list of the all-encompassing SGV Top 25. So from St. Francis to Bonita down to Diamond Bar and back across to La Habra, this is everybody, the very best of the very best. Among our area schools making the cut are St. Francis (No. 7), Muir (No. 9) and Monrovia (No. 12).
Burbank scored six runs in the first three innings, but if it thought the game was over Burbank sure had another thing coming. Pasadena's Robert Lain needed only one pitch to hit a grand slam over the center field wall and the Bulldogs added four more in the sixth to cap a remarkable come-from-behind 9-7 win over Burbank on Tuesday afternoon in the Pacific League opener for both schools. William Yost started the two-out, five-run rally with a single to center. Andrew Phillips followed suit with another single to center and Chris Rucker's RBI single brought home Yost to start the rally and make it 6-1. Chris Klein got hit by a pitch to load the bases, that's when Lain came to the plate and, to say the least, made things interesting. Ivew Brown started the sixth with a single that rolled by the pitcher and took a bounce off the mound. He beat the throw to second. Phillips singled to right and Chris Rucker's RBI single to right field scored Brown to make it 6-6. Klein loaded the bases again with a bunt that got past Burbank pitcher Chase Mersola. The throw to first was not in time. Lain, again facing a bases loaded situation, hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Phillips for the winning run. Kevin Winder put the icing on the cake with a single to right field, scoring Rucker and Klein for a 9-6 lead. Klein picked up his first win in two appearances. He walked and gave up a hit to the first two batters in the seventh, had two fielder's choice for the first two outs, allowing Mersola to score and make it 9-7. Klein got Ryan Favor to ground out to second for the final out. Pasadena showed grit. It took longer than expected, but the bats finally came alive when confidence sunk in. Burbank pitcher Taylor McCauley perhaps played an inning too long. He had given up only two hits heading into the fifth. It wasn't until midway through the sixth when McCauley was replaced.
STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
1. St. Francis (6-2) -- St. Francis beat everyone in the Elks Tournament, lost to Saugus and Crescenta Valley by relatively close margins. We'll see how strong the Knights really are after they open Mission League play against Crespi today. Crespi is the top-ranked team in Division 2. How strong is the Mission League you ask? Loyola, also from the Mission League, is ranked No. 2 in Division 2.
2. Alhambra (7-1) -- Moors found their form after losing to St. Francis in the Elks Tournament final. After soundly beating Kalani in a doubleheader last week, Alhambra went on the road and beat a good Bell Gardens team behind the strong arm of Jonathan Beltran and solid effort at the plate from Greg Saldate.
3. Monrovia (8-1) -- I'll be the first to admit I wondered the validity of the Wildcats pitching rotation. But senior pitcher Aaron Murphee is quickly proving he can carry the load and the tag of a true ace. He shut out South Pasadena in the Rio Hondo League opener, struck out nine and allowed only five hits.
4. Arcadia (4-2) -- Apaches get a handful of cupcakes to open the Pacific League season, then head into the Apache Invitational before resuming league against the big boys.
5. Maranatha (3-5) -- The Minutemen may have pitching depth but we've seen no evidence that relievers can maintain leads. There are some question marks after Dylan Covey, and for the first time in a long time, things won't get easy come Alpha League play.
6. Pasadena Poly (5-2) -- The Panthers have a long layoff because of spring break. No tournaments mean they don't play until April when they resume Prep League action at Rio Hondo Prep on April 1.
7. Temple City (3-3) -- The Rams got a confidence win over Blair. It gets gradually harder from that point forward as San Marino and Monrovia wait on deck.
8. Pasadena (5-2) -- Bulldogs split a doubleheader vs. Valley Christian. They get a tough test today against Burbank in the Pacific League opener. I'll be at that game.
9. La Salle (4-4) -- Split a doubleheader vs. Maranatha over the weekend. Covey proved to be too much and the Lancers rebounded in the second game. La Salle travels for a big game Friday at St. Paul.
10. South Pasadena (4-4) -- The Tigers suffered close losses to Monrovia. What does that say? It says South Pasadena is here to contend. My money's on the Tigers to finish second behind Monrovia. San Marnio, Temple City and La Canada have their work cut out.
STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
1. La Cañada (7-1) -- The Spartans are clearly the best team in the area and the team to beat in the West San Gabriel Valley. They're the only team in our area ranked No. 1 in their respective CIF-Southern Section Division 5 top 10 poll. I hear Friday's game against South Pasadena will be played under the lights, but the schedule on MaxPreps says 3:30 p.m. I have no problem with late games, but from a reporter's perspective, covering night games can sometimes be a potential nightmare with deadlines and all.
2. La Salle (6-3) -- It was fun watching Allie Forillo dominate St. Monica in the Camino Real League opener last week. You know the deal. She struck out 15 and came within two outs of a perfect game, but settled for a no-no. Colleen McWilliams was clutch as always, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. A name to look out for is Katie Smither. The freshman went 2-for-2 with a triple, a single and a walk. She also scored three runs.
3. San Marino (6-4) -- Michelle Floyd is the real deal. If anyone really doubted that, then her perfect game last week certainly settled the case.
4. South Pasadena (4-3) -- The Tigers opened Rio Hondo League play with a dominant 8-2 win over Monrovia. The rankings reflect until Saturday, so we didn't take in consideration that the Wildcats returned the favor Monday with a 3-1 win. Nevertheless, there's a hint in the air that we'll see more parity in the Rio Hondo League. After La Cañada, of course.
5. Mayfield (3-1) -- I'll get my first chance at watching Mayfield on Thursday vs. Maranatha. Is Clancy pitching? Either way, I'm curious to see what kind of supporting cast the Cubs now have.
6. San Gabriel Mission (5-1) -- San Gabriel Mission's schedule doesn't seem all that daunting. The Pioneers lost to San Gabriel, but there's no update on their game vs. Alhambra. The schedule gets easier come league play.
7. Maranatha (4-3) -- The Minutemen have a tough challenge in a rematch against Marymount today. They'll play two more nonleague games (Mayfield, L.A. Baptist) before opening Alpha League play against Marshall next week.
8. Temple City (5-5) -- We knew we were going to see great things from Jessica Loicano (.357, two home runs, two doubles, one triple), but we're also seeing something special develop with junior Jessica Flores, who leads the team in batting average (.469).
9. Monrovia (6-2) -- The big test comes today vs. La Cañada. Win or lose, it'll be a good barometer for the Wildcats to use and see how far they've come along.
10. Arcadia (3-4) -- The Apaches open Pacific League play at home against Hoover today. Sam Miller continues to tear it up.
In an effort to keep you guys up to date with our former stars, we will post updates here and there when information is made readily available. First up, former Arcadia star Morgan Barchan. The Southern Illinois freshman had a sensational game last week, batting 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in the Salukis' 8-0 win over Evansville in Missouri Valley Conference play.
It's always fun when a team takes the next step and goes from living in the shadows to contender. You have to be impressed with what South Pasadena did on Friday. The Tigers upended Monrovia, 8-2, in the Rio Hondo League opener for both schools. Indiana-bound Shelby Gogreve is arguably the area's best infielder. Batting leadoff for the Tigers, Gogreve was batting .615 with a .722 on base percentage and a 1.462 slugging percentage. She has two home runs, three doubles and a triple heading into Friday's game. But it's not just Gogreve making waves. Rochester College-bound Courtney Dunlap is a senior utility player batting .533 with a 1.267 slugging percentage as she plays third, first, catcher and DP, with a baffling four triples and three doubles. Cynthia Ream-Garcia is a freshman to keep an eye on. She is batting .333 playing first base and is kind of a force of nature. Marrissa Baca is pitching good enough to win most games with a current 2.45 era, but it is a little scary how good she could be if she could become a little more consistent. If I had to pick a softball game of the week, without a doubt it's South Pasadena at La Cañada on Friday.
La Salle's Allie Forillo flirted with a perfect game until the seventh inning. That's when St. Monica's Jackie Dansky, the penultimate batter and a substitute in the game, drew a walk to end Forillo's bid for perfection. She got the next batter to pop up, ending the game and giving the Lancers a dominating 9-0 win over St. Monica in the Camino Real League opener Thursday afternoon at Latter Day Saints Church in Pasadena. It's really been two great days of softball for me. First, I got to see Arcadia and Maranatha battle in an intense nonleague game Wednesday, and now La Salle. I asked Forillo how important was it for the Lancers to make a statement in the league opener. "It was really important because we wanted to show how good we really are," she said. "We had redemption on our mind because of the way we played in the Duarte Tournament." Forillo struck out 15 batters. She also went 2 for 4 with two RBIs to help her cause. La Salle takes part in the High Desert Tournament beginning tomorrow. They'll spend the night and play a doubleheader Saturday before coming back that night, and return again Monday to finish the tournament. I'll be off Friday and through the weekend. (I'm running on fumes after covering Pasadena boys basketball throughout the playoffs; covered their last four games in seven days and traveled over 700 miles in that run. It was fun, but also exhausting). I'll post some threads Friday and Sunday to let you guys have at it, and we'll get right back into it in full strength next week when Keith Lair also returns.
THURSDAY'S BOX SCORE
Camino Real League
La Salle 9, St. Monica 0
St. Monica 000 000 0 -- 0 0 3
La Salle 103 203 X -- 9 11 0
Alex Wolansky and Alex Villa; Allie Forillo and Stephanie Ferri
3B: Katie Smither (LS); 2B: Colleen McWilliams (LS); RBI: McWilliams (LS) 3.
Records: St. Monica 4-1, 0-1; La Salle 3-2, 1-0
A Northern California high school pitcher is in a medically-induced coma after getting hit in the head by a line drive. The incident is re-igniting the call to ban metal bats in youth baseball.
(Video from The Associated Press).
The Monterey Herald is reporting that pitcher Gunnar Sandberg was taken to the emergency room at the hospital where he was assessed overnight, and was put in a temporary coma last week because of swelling of the brain. He underwent several CT scans before medical personnel determined the course of action.
The Marin Independent Journal also has a story on its Website.
There's been a lot of "he said, she said" as to why Arcadia and Monrovia didn't play in the third-place game of the Elks Tournament. I wondered about it, too, and thought if they played it would have made for a really good game. It didn't happen, and there is a reason to it. Arcadia expressed interest in moving the time to 3 p.m. at Monrovia. The Wildcats declined. Arcadia suggested moving it to 7 p.m. at Arcadia. The Wildcats declined. "We had some kids who were going to take the SATs," Arcadia coach Nick Lemas said. "I wanted to play the best team out there, and Monrovia was the best team available. But we weren't able to get our whole team. What's the point if I don't have my guys. I don't think the kids should have been punished for taking the SATs." Jeff Kim and Haram Park were two of the kids taking the SATs that morning, and Kim was salted to pitch in the third-place game. "I think the fans and kids would have enjoyed it," Lemas said. "We got Pasadena Poly, who is a quality opponent, so it all worked out." Monrovia also had some kids taking the SATs, but despite that there was no sense in moving the time of the game for a few players, given the schedule is made out since November and game officials are told ahead of time the final Saturday games are played at 11 a.m. "If you have a team like St. Francis or Arcadia or somebody else that can play at night, they ask us if we can move it and if the officials say yes, then they can move the game," Monrovia co-head coach Brad Blackmore said. "Once Arcadia lost and we lost, we're playing (Arcadia) at our place at 11 a.m." So, because Monrovia is one of three host teams (Temple City and Alhambra are the others) the game is at Monrovia at 11 a.m. by default. There's no budging there. Monrovia felt it didn't have to move the game, no less its site. Both coaches agreed that at this point if they couldn't come up with a resolution, then both teams would play teams that were available for their schedules. Monrovia played and beat Western Christian and Arcadia played and beat Pasadena Poly. Both teams got their fifth game in and worked their pitchers before the start of league. Monrovia opens Friday at home against South Pas. Arcadia opens on the 23rd at Hoover.
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF WEDNESDAY'S LA SALLE-BISHOP AMAT GAME
By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
LA PUENTE -- Forgive La Salle High School baseball coach Harry Agajanian for being so blunt, but he acknowledged competing with Bishop Amat for several innings before falling, 8-3, in Wednesday's Del Rey League opener was somewhat of a moral victory.
Just last week Bishop Amat (5-1, 1-0) advanced to the championship game of the prestigious Newport Elks tournament, where it lost to Orange Lutheran after four impressive wins that earned the Lancers a brief stay atop MaxPreps' state poll.
"I'm proud of our guys," Agajanian said. "They were on the road against a team that could potentially beat us up pretty good, but we hung in there and battled. We weren't afraid to go pitch to pitch with those guys.
"This wasn't a loss to us. This was a competitive fight and another step in our journey."
With firepower such as catcher Jerry McClanahan, shortstop Rio Ruiz and outfielders Jay Anderson and Jordan McCraney, Amat unleashed a new weapon for opponents to think about in the form of junior Sebi Zavala, who was 3 for 3 with a double, single and two-run triple in the fourth inning. Last week Zavala hit three homers in a 7-2 win over Mater Dei.
Bishop Amat jumped to a 2-0 lead in first inning after Anderson led off with a triple to center. He was doubled home by Joe Eusebio, who advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on McClanahan's ground out.
It stayed that way until the fourth inning when Zavala tripled in two runs and scored on Jonathan Velasquez's squeeze to make it 5-0.
"That triple to lead off the first was a catchable ball, our center fielder just misplayed it," Agajanian said. "If we had kept the first inning to 0-0 it might have changed the complexity of the game.
Click here for the division realignments for all sports starting in the fall
The Mid-Valley Division already is fun with the Rio Hondo League and Valle Vista's battling it out for a spot in the finals, but now we get the likes of Alhambra and San Gabriel from the Almont and Maranatha out of the Olympic League. The new division realignments are good news for our side of town, but not so much for the guys over on the East. The move to send Charter Oak, South Hills and Damien was so bad that our Freddie Robledo was compelled to say as much to CIF asst. commissioner Rob Wigod in a heated debate over the phone on Monday. But what does this mean for the Mid Valley? Alhambra, San Gabriel, Schurr and Montebello get a chance to compete in a division they belong, but we'll still have a San Dimas-Monrovia reunion come December.
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF TUESDAY'S KALANI-ALHAMBRA BASEBALL GAME
Alhambra played host to Hawaii's Kalani High in a doubleheader on Tuesday. It was the first time Alhambra played an out-of-state game at Moor Field, and from the looks of it, it was quite the experience for Kalani. They went to Magic Mountain, toured Dodger Stadium and took a stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And no trip to California is validated until you try In-N-Out burgers and a little taste of The Hat. Kalani will play at Monrovia this afternoon before playing Beverly Hills and then heading off to Las Vegas for the culmination of their six-game trip. Our Nathan Cambridge covered the games and our Keith Birmingham was there to shoot the action.
ALHAMBRA -- The Kalani Falcons crossed the ocean from their home in Honolulu, Hawaii, to start their weeklong, six-game mainland baseball swing with a Tuesday doubleheader against Alhambra at Moor Field.
"I think it's a great experience for the kids. Our seniors, we wanted to get them some mainland exposure in case they go to college," Kalani coach Shannon Hirai said. "It's a chance for most of these guys to experience a college road trip. I wanted to try to give them that opportunity."
Alhambra (6-1) swept both games, winning in convincing fashion 11-3 and 12-2, with the second game called after five innings.
"We started some other guys in the first game to give them a shot to start and in the next game we (went) with the guys that have been starting," Alhambra coach Steve Gewecke said. "Obviously we are playing to win just like they are."
Over the last 10 years coach Shannon Hirai has been taking the Falcons to the mainland to play and gain experience and exposure for potential college playing opportunities. On a trip years ago Shane Komime had a breakout game that led to a scholarship from Nebraska.
"These trips have kind of given opportunities to further playing baseball," Hirai said.
This year's trip is focused on the importance of education in achieving goals on and off the field, something critical to Kalani gaining approval from the local school system for the excursion. This past weekend included a visit to Cal State Northridge, where the Hawaiians met with the coaches and players, including former teammate Ridge Carpenter.
"You have to prepare yourself for college and the things that go into it, like your study habits," senior starting catcher Kiel Odo said of the lessons he learned from the Northridge visit. "You've got to get those things down. Just working hard at baseball and being a good student."
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Continue reading Baseball: Hawaii's Kalani High enjoys trip to the WSGV.
1. St. Francis (5-0) -- You can't get any better than starting the season with five straight wins. What proved more impressive is the manner in which the Knights went about their 5-0 start. For the second time in three years, St. Francis wins the Arcadia Elks Tournament. In that span, the Knights have gone an incredible 14-1, the lone loss coming to Temple City last year to finish in third place. Nevertheless, St. Francis will either enjoy its rise to the top for the long term or fall if it's exposed against Saugus in Wednesday's doubleheader. We'll know more then. But for now, you can't overlook St. Francis' prowess, led by Ethan Bramschreiber and AJ Burglund.
2. Alhambra (4-1) -- The Moors are off to a solid start. Clearly, Alhambra coach Steve Gewecke thought the Moors should have and could have played better against St. Francis in the Elks finale, but the season's early and Gewecke will use the exhibition series against Kalani to see who will play what and where when Almont League action opens Friday at Bell Gardens. Jonathan Beltran played just as we expected, as has Greg Saldate and Vailele Peko.
3. Monrovia (4-1) -- The Wildcats finished third in the Elks Tournament. I know there's some controversy surrounding that placement given the way things ended with Monrovia and Arcadia, but the Wildcats showed why they're poised to win their fifth straight Rio Hondo League title. I think the only concern with Monrovia is the pitching depth. They have power from 1-7, but pitching is key when getting to the playoffs.
4. Arcadia (4-1) -- The Apaches had a solid win over Pasadena Poly and takes on Northview this week before opening Pacific League action against Hoover next week. It would have been absolutely awesome to see Arcadia and Monrovia battle it out. How this game never came about is beyond me. I'm disappointed as I'm sure the fans from both fan bases are as well. By the way, Haram Park's come out of nowhere, hasn't he? He's lighting it up so far for the Apaches, leading the team in batting average (.571), on base percentage (.700), slugging percentage (1,143), and home runs (2).
5. Maranatha (1-4) -- When Maranatha had a stellar appearance in the Southern California Invitational last year, I bumped the Minutemen higher in the rankings. With Dylan Covey intact and seven of nine starters returning, it seemed like Maranatha would do as good, if not, better than last year's performance in the SoCal Invite. The Minutemen finished 1-4, and the argument could be made that they played against top Division I teams, but simply playing in them sometimes isn't enough, especially this year when expectations seem just as high, if not higher than last year. Having said that, Maranatha playing against the big boys will only prove helpful in the long run, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised again if I find myself covering Maranatha the last few weeks of the baseball season. It's time for Maranatha to play in the Elks Tournament. It's time for us to see how they measure against our top teams. It won't be a downgrade going from the SoCal Invite to the Elks because the competition level in the Elks still is much higher than that of the Alpha League and Division V. If nothing else, Maranatha gets a chance to quiet its critics. Or not. Until then, it's all debate.
6. Pasadena Poly (3-2) -- The Panthers got off to a solid start, but we'll get a great chance on Wednesday to see how they fare against higher quality teams. Pasadena Poly hosts La Canada on Wednesday.
7. Temple City (2-3) -- The Rams gave up 23 runs against quality teams (Arcadia, Beverly Hills, La Salle). Seems like Temple City still is looking for its identity. They'll get a confidence-boosting win against Blair when they open Rio Hondo League action on Friday. But then again, Blair is 2-0 in the season and seems to be confident heading into league play, so you never know.
8. Pasadena (4-1) -- Mike Parisi is doing a fantastic job with the Bulldogs. Losing their best player (Nathan Bernstein) last year and Pasadena's off to a hot start. Its lone loss comes to St. Francis, and that loss only came at 6-3. This time last year, Pasadena was 2-2-1 heading into Pacific League play.
9. La Salle (3-2) -- How the Lancers lost to Western Christian 13-9 is still puzzling, but since that loss La Salle has rebounded nicely with wins over Duarte (I know) and Temple City.
10. South Pasadena (4-1) -- Tony Veiller is batting .615 and has two home runs already. It's easy to see how the Tigers can contend for a, dare I say, shot at the Rio Hondo League title. That may be putting it over the top, but it looks like the Tigers have playoff-bound written all over them. Veiller is 2-0 on the mound with a team-leading nine strikeouts.
1. La Cañada (4-0) -- How could you not justify the Spartans atop the rankings? Great pitching (O'Leary/Cox) and great offensive production (Edwards) easily makes them the area's dominant team in the area. There are some questions about La Cañada's youth, but at this junction (so early in the season) it is my belief that we got our answer of which area team will dominate, and the Spartans did exactly that in the Duarte Tournament. Anna Edwards was fun to watch last year, but you look at what she did in the Duarte Tournament regardless of opponent, and you have to be taken aback at her heavy swing. She went 9-for-11 with 13 RBIs, three home runs and seven runs scored.
2. San Gabriel Mission (3-0) -- We didn't have the Pioneers in our top 10 preseason rankings, but you can't ignore what they've done in three games, allowing just four runs. San Gabriel on Tuesday beat Maranatha, 3-2. Nicole Holguin had six strikeouts, two walks and pitched 6 2/3 innings. She gave up a two-run double in the top of the 7th inning. She struck out the next better looking.
3. La Salle (2-2) -- The Lancers had a shaky start to the season. The 6-2 loss to L.A. Marshall is a quality loss. La Salle went on to beat Flintridge Prep 26-0 (what is this, football?) and lost to South Hills 6-4 before beating Marshall Fundamental 6-4. It's not exactly the kind of results we were anticipating, but to the Lancers' defense this still is a very early season.
4. Marnatha (1-1) -- The Minutemen will get a chance to bounce back early when they host Arcadia on Wednesday. Maranatha also lost to L.A. Marshall, and got a win over a weak Banning team. There still is some concern in the pitching and fielding department.
5. Monrovia (4-1) -- The Wildcats have two shutouts so far this season. If their pitching comes together we could see the darkhorse in the Rio Hondo League. We'll know a lot more after Monrovia opens the season against South Pasadena.
6. Temple City (2-2) -- It's too early to tell where Temple City is. The Rams beat South Pasadena and Arcadia, solid wins by all accounts. The loss to Arroyo is an iffy loss and losing 4-1 to Schurr might explain why we're high on Temple City.
7. South Pasadena (2-2) -- The young Tigers squad still is finding their form. It can be their strong suit and just as well can be their weakness. South Pasadena plays Schurr today and opens the season against Monrovia on Friday.
8. San Marino (1-1) -- Word from some coaches and parents in the know say Michelle Floyd, a 6-foot-3 freshman, is the real deal. The Titans lost only 1-0 to L.A. Marshall, beat Alhambra 10-3 on Monday and currently are playing in the Lincoln Tournament.
9. Mayfield (2-1) -- With Katie Clancy in the circle the Cubs always have a chance at a W. The rest is where we may have some questions. We may get some answers when Mayfield plays Maranatha, South Pasadena and Flintridge Sacred Heart.
10. Arcadia (3-3) -- The Apaches visit Maranatha on Wednesday. There's a lot of potential on this Arcadia tea, but errors prove to be too much to recover from and limited hitting will slow down Arcadia.
About five months ago, I wrote a story about Victor Wright, a former Muir frosh/soph football player who in 1976 suffered a devastating injury that paralyzed him from the neck down. Former coaches interviewed for the story said that if not for the injury, Wright could have been a star on the varsity football team. Wright never went on to play football again, thus never receiving a varsity letter, no less a letterman jacket. Wright was honored with an honorary varsity letter during a Muir home football game last season, but he didn't have a letterman jacket. Wright said he might keep his varsity letter in a closet with the rest of his junior high letters because he didn't have a letterman jacket. "When I was playing I had intended to get a jacket," Wright said at the time. Muir football coach Ken Howard was on a mission. "I'm sure we can do some fundraising and get a jacket for the young man," said Howard. "He deserves it." Readers poured in with their support, and I'm happy to report that Victor Wright last weekend received his letterman jacket. David Rutherford, membership chairperson for the John Muir High School Alumni Association, e-mailed photos and a press release.
VICTOR WRIGHT RECEIVES LETTERMAN JACKET
Hall-of-Fame alumnus Victor Wright today was presented with a custom letterman jacket, paid for by his Muir High classmates and Pasadena Star-News readers who responded to an article indicating he had no such jacket to adorn his recently acquired honorary varsity football letter. Wright, who suffered a spinal injury as a sophomore during a game in 1976, has been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 33 years. He was presented with an honorary varsity letter at a Nov. 16, 2009 halftime ceremony at Muir's Walton Field during a game against Arcadia High, which the 0-5 Mustangs won, 27-7.
The Star-News ran an article the next day, which revealed Wright had earned two other football letters at Muir and was a five-sport letterman at Eliot Middle School (football, baseball, track, gymnastics and volleyball). However, Wright admitted he had no jacket for the letters, which were in a bedroom dresser drawer.An outpouring of support followed, as a half dozen readers sent in checks to the newspaper made out to Wright, totaling $205. Victor's classmates, who held their 30-year reunion last November - which he attended - picked up the remaining cost of customizing the $373 jacket with a portion of the proceeds from their weekend activities.
Also discovered in Wright's drawer was another honorary varsity letter given to Wright in 1977 at a varsity football team awards banquet, attended by the late former University of Michigan Head Coach Bo Schembechler The Wolverines were in town for the 1978 Rose Bowl game. Schembechler heard about Wright's story and came to the banquet at Brookside Golf Club to present him with a helmet and football, which still hang on his bedroom wall.
Wright, who turns 49 next month, graduated on schedule with his class
in 1979. Ten years later, he became one of the first quadriplegics to earn a college degree, through a program for students with disabilities at Los Angeles City College. He went on to co-found the non-profit organization Family of Friends International (www.familyoffriendsinternational.org), which provides relief to victims of natural disasters. For these efforts, Wright was elected to the John Muir High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007.
Alhambra High School baseball coach Steve Gewecke has spent the last five summers coaching the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League.
In his time there, Gewecke struck up a friendship with Shannon Hirai, the head baseball coach at Kalani High in Honolulu. Hirai joined Gewecke's staff three years ago, and there was talk about Hirai bringing his high school baseball team to the mainland. Hirai's team came to the states three years ago and took part in a tournament in Las Vegas.
This week, Hirai's team is back in the states, and Gewecke wanted to give the squad a true local experience during its weeklong stay.
Gewecke met the team at LAX on Saturday morning at 6. That day, the Kalani baseball team and its staff went to Magic Mountain and visited a former teammate of theirs playing at Cal State Northridge.
Of course, no trip to California is complete without a stop at In-N-Out, a tour of Dodger Stadium and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, all this before Kalani and Alhambra square off in a doubleheader today at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Moor Field.
The more competitive game should be the second one, in which Gewecke said he'll spread the pitching, at-bats and playing time around. When the game ends, 55 cheeseburgers from The Hat in Alhambra will be waiting for both teams. Corky Conzonire, a 1960 Alhambra graduate, is the owner and gladly stepped in to help.
"I'm trying to be a good host," quipped Gewecke.
"We wanted this to be a really good experience for them."
Gewecke sees some similarities between Kalani and Alhambra.
"They have a lot of the same kind of guys as us," Gewecke said. "They play a lot of hit-and-run, they're aggressive."
The plan to bring Kalani has been in the works for two years. Kalani will also play against Monrovia on Wednesday and Beverly Hills on Thursday before heading to Vegas for two more games before heading home.
Photo courtesy of Golper family
Robert Kuwada (formerly a UCLA beat writer at the OC Register) recently had a long Q&A session for Bruin Report Online with UCLA linebackers coach Clark Lea (click here for the interview, subscription-based). Halfway through the interview, Kuwada asks Lea about the linebackers, and in this excerpt Lea mentions former Arcadia star Todd Golper, who was a redshirt freshman last season. Golper was a two-time All-Star News first-team member.
With the Mikes, where do you see that starting off this spring?
''Well, I think those are discussions that will (come). Right now we're going through cut ups from last season and kind of figuring out where we are at personnel wise and what we need to work on, and then at the end of this month, in the next couple of weeks I'd say, we'll probably hammer out a depth chart and really get a feel for where we want to see guys and how we want to see them.
''Right now, I'd be maybe speaking a little premature, but obviously you've got Steve Sloan, who has started before, and he is the elder statesman so to speak. He is the older guy. You can anticipate seeing him rolling through there early. And with Patrick Larimore being a guy who has had a year, two years now here, and so he's getting to know the system and he's going to push Steve and they're going to compete, and then Todd Golper being a guy that is also in that mix, a guy that we're looking to continue to develop. It's a tough position to fully grasp, though, in your first year because we ask the Mike to do a lot. You saw how Reggie played and how he controlled things. It does take some time to get there.''
Todd Golper, he's obviously the youngest of that group, but where do you see him?
''Todd is such a conscientious worker and a guy that, to be honest with you, as a player that is redshirting, has done a tremendous job picking up the defense. He really has. I've been impressed with him. He's a guy that's going to get in there and get his reps and we'll see where he's at in terms of his development. You know, obviously, it takes time and so it's really hard to comment on where he is right now because he spent the fall really working with the scout team. We'll get him out there and get him going and see where he's at, and that's where my job becomes critical. How soon can he be ready? I've got to find where his buttons are that need to be pushed and work with him that way.''
It's 8:42 a.m. as I'm writing this from an IHOP in San Diego. Yes, I'm still here one day after covering Pasadena's boys basketball team lose in the CIF State Division II Southern California Regionals. I came here a day early anyway to hang out with some friends. We stayed in Seaport Village most of the day and got to see the USS Midway (below) among other cool and crazy things. Later, I'm headed to a friend's BBQ birthday party. When I get home it'll be well after midnight, but by then I would have left San Diego and the basketball season well behind me, too. It's time to really get into the baseball season. I guess in a nutshell I'll ask, what have I missed? I saw (more like read) St. Francis was dominant against Alhambra in the Elks Tournament finale. When the first week's top 10 rankings take shape, what movement do you expect to see? What games should we cover? Any surprise players who impressed you during the first week of tournament play?
SAN DIEGO - If the first two minutes were any indication of how the Pasadena High School boys basketball team would fare the rest of the game then the Bulldogs sure were in for a dreadful night. Pasadena committed seven turnovers in the first two minutes and couldn't recover after Lincoln's 12-0 start to the game, handing the visiting Bulldogs an 81-45 defeat in the semifinals of the CIF State Division II Southern California Regionals on Saturday night. Lincoln (27-2) had too much size, strength and athleticism, proving to be the perfect recipe to deny Pasadena (27-8) a shot at playing for the Southern California championship next week at USC's Galen Center. Lincoln was in such control that a running clock was instituted early in the fourth quarter when they went up 75-35. Pasadena coach Tim Tucker hollered over to the scorer's table to inquired and was informed that a running clock is instituted once a team reaches a 40-point lead. "One team showed up and one team didn't," Tucker said. "We lost this game in the first five minutes. I thought our guys never got going. We're definitely better than what we played, but we didn't show up tonight. They just came and bulldozed us and beat us up. It was sad we couldn't give them a better game."
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF THURSDAY'S ST. FRANCIS-MONROVIA GAME
NOTE: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MOVED TO 11 A.M.
ELKS TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY
ST. FRANCIS (4-0) vs. ALHAMBRA (4-0) at MOOR FIELD, 11 a.m. -- I will be in San Diego covering Pasadena basketball in the semifinals of the CIF State Division II Southern California Regionals. Our Keith Lair will be there and we'll also have a photographer at the game. If the site and time changes I'll be sure to let you know. The top 10 rankings will come out Wednesday, and already we're seeing some shifting with the season one week old. Is St. Francis the real deal? Yes. What about Alhambra? Yes. Is Maranatha still the No. 1 team in the area? Not so sure yet. I guess a lot of it depends on how they fare in the Southern California Invitational. I'll get to a lot of that Monday. In the meantime, let's hear your predictions for Saturday's final. It's certainly a matchup that wouldn't have happened if not for the Elks Tournament. That's what makes this tournament so fun to watch and cover: We get to see a lot of local teams play each other, matchups that otherwise would be unlikely.
THURSDAY'S SEMIFINAL SCORES
Alhambra 5, Arcadia 4 -- In the tournament's other semifinal, Alhambra (4-0) escaped with the victory over visiting Arcadia at Moor Field after the Apaches loaded the bases in the seventh inning. Moors starting pitcher Jonathan Beltran (2-0) pitched 6 1/3 innings for the victory, and also went 2 for 3 at the plate with two singles. Gary Acuna recorded the save. Garrett Tuck (1-1) took the loss for Arcadia (3-1). Apaches leadoff hitter Haram Park started the game by hitting the first of his two home runs.
St. Francis 8, Monrovia 3 -- St. Francis High School's baseball team banged out 14 hits en route to an 8-3 victory over host Monrovia in an Arcadia Elks Tournament semifinal game Thursday afternoon. "That was as close as we've come to playing a complete ballgame," St. Francis coach Brian Esquival said. "Today we swung the bats pretty well and we pitched really well." St. Francis (4-0) ended the Wildcats' season-opening, scoreless-inning streak at 22 in the second inning, when No. 9 hitter Brandon Van Horn dropped a single into left-center field that scored Andrew Yu from third base. Yu had reached base on a single to right field off Wildcats starter Aaron Murphree (1-1). "(Murphree) never really had his off-speed stuff going at all, so it pretty much made him a one-pitch pitcher today, and I thought, considering that, he did a pretty good job of keeping us in the game," Monrovia co-head coach Brad Blackmore said. All of the Golden Knights' runs came courtesy of seven run-producing singles, most going back up the middle or into right field. Of St. Francis' 14 hits, 13 were singles. In the fifth inning, St. Francis stroked five consecutive base hits off two Wildcats pitchers to score two runs and push the advantage to 5-0. "We try to preach, `Let the ball get deep and drive it to the right side,' and the kids did a really good job," Esquival said. Mark Saatzer managed a double to deep left field in the third inning, during which St. Francis scored two runs on RBI singles by A.J. Berglund and Dave Hubinger. Hubinger finished with two RBIs, as did Van Horn, and senior Ryan Pires led all players with three RBIs, including a two-run single to right field in the seventh. St. Francis' Chris Longo (1-0) started on the mound for the first time this season and got the victory, leaving in the fifth inning with no outs and a 5-0 lead. The junior gave up just two singles in his five innings of work. Monrovia (3-1) scored two runs in the fifth inning after loading the bases with no outs. Jordan Trujillo hit an RBI groundout, followed by a Matt Stark sacrifice fly.
CLICK ON THREAD FOR THE REST OF THE TOURNAMENT'S SCORES
Continue reading Baseball: St. Francis, Alhambra to meet in Elks title game.
ANOTHER VIEW
"Murrieta Valley and Pasadena traded blows as if a heavyweight belt was on the line, and when four quarters couldn't decide a victor, overtime was needed. Locked in an epic battle with the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (27-7) before an overflow crowd of more than 2,500 at MVHS ---- probably the largest crowd ever for a Valley basketball game ---- the third-seeded Nighthawks overcame a dismal 27-percent shooting night by playing their usual tough man-to-man defense and continually going into the paint to earn baskets when the perimeter was blocked."
-- CLICK HERE FOR MORE GAME COVERAGE FROM THE CALIFORNIAN
"It was one of those classic defensive struggles, the kind where every point has to be fought for and earned. For the first time in while, Murrieta Valley came up short.:
-- CLICK HERE FOR GAME COVERAGE FROM THE RIVERSIDE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
"It was a heavyweight battle of epic proportions, with neither giant throwing in the towel in front of a boisterous standing-room only crowd that roared with every basket. ... 'Man, what a ball game ... what a ball game,' Pasadena coach Tim Tucker said. 'You can't ask for a better game from both teams. Overtime, fighting for tooth and nails and neither team wanting to go home.'"
--CLICK HERE FOR GAME COVERAGE FROM THE PASADENA STAR-NEWS
"We've been behind by 25 and been in every possible situation this season. There isn't a scenario we haven't seen," said coach Jason Bryant, whose Lincoln Hornets (26-2) started the fourth quarter down by three. "I was very happy we didn't shoot threes and kept going to the basket. They finally listened."
--CLICK HERE FOR LINCOLN COVERAGE FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
BOYS BASKETBALL
CIF STATE PLAYOFFS
SOCAL REGIONAL
THURSDAY'S SCORE
SECOND ROUND
DIVISION II
PASADENA 49, MURRIETA VALLEY 43, OT -- Pasadena delivered the final blows in the final minute to knock off Murrieta Valley 49-43 in overtime Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the CIF State Division II Southern California Regionals. Pasadena (27-7) moves on to play at Lincoln of San Diego in Saturday's semifinals. Murrieta Valley (28-5) ends its history-making season after winning its first CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA championship. The Bulldogs don't know that feeling, having let that opportunity slip away in the Division 2A final against Eisenhower last week. And perhaps drawing from that hunger, Pasadena didn't let this win slip out of their hands. The wind was sucked out of the air with 1 minute, 16 seconds left in overtime, Murrieta Valley's first sign of the end. Pasadena's Steven Shares made a turnaround jump shot to give the Bulldogs a 44-43 lead. Nick Holden then blocked the Nighthawks' ensuing possession and Todd Lewis Jr. grabbed the rebound with 1:01 remaining. The dagger came with 35 seconds remaining, courtesy of senior George Toyama. With the shot clock winding down and the crowd on its feet, Toyama drove inside, put a move on the defender, swooped the ball and kissed it off the glass to give the Bulldogs a 46-43 lead. Murrieta Valley missed its 3-point attempt and Shares grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 14.1 seconds. He made 1-of-2, giving the Nighthawks a chance at a miracle. Toyama, however, had other plans. He stole the inbounds pass near midcourt and was fouled with 9.5 seconds. He converted both his free throws to send the visiting crowd into a frenzy.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
CIF STATE PLAYOFFS
SOCAL REGIONAL
THURSDAY'S SCORE
SECOND ROUND
DIVISION III
INGLEWOOD 46, MUIR 41 -- Muir knew it was going to have to play one of its best games of the season to defeat host Inglewood. The Mustangs, who have not played well of late, stepped into that frame of mind Thursday night and played valiantly before finally succumbing to the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA champions, 46-41, in the quarterfinals of the CIF State Division III Southern California Regionals. "We never gave up," Muir coach Gary Johnson said. "We knew we had a chance. Missed free throws hurt us. But the girls didn't give up." Except for the game's opening minutes, neither team led by more than one trip down the floor until the game's final two minutes. The lead changed hands nine times. Muir, which lost in the CIF-SS Division 3A title game, took its final lead, 31-28, on a Daysha Thomas 15-footer with 1:51 remaining in the third quarte
POOL A: South Pasadena; Duarte; Pasadena; Whittier
POOL B: Temple City, Gladstone, Marshall (Pasadena); Schurr
POOL C: La Canada, Arcadia, Rosemead, Baldwin Park.
POOL D: La Salle, South Hills; Flintridge Prep; L.A. Marshall
FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE
All games at Duarte High
Arcadia (2-1, 2nd in pool) vs. La Mirada (2-1, 2nd in pool), 3 p.m. South Field (7th place)
South Pasadena (2-1, 2nd in pool) vs. Temple City (2-1, 2nd in pool), 5 p.m. South Field (5th place)
Whittier (3-0, 1st in pool) vs. South Hills (3-0, 1st in pool), 3 p.m. North Field (3rd place)
Schurr (3-0, 1st in pool) vs. La Cañada (3-0, 1st in pool), 5 p.m. North Field (Championship)
Tiebreaker Note: Whittier allowed four runs; South Hills allowed 5 runs; Schurr allowed 3 runs; La Cañada allowed no runs.
WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
La Cañada 10, Baldwin park 0
Arcadia 8, rosemead 3
Schurr 4, Temple City 1
Gladstone 6, Marshall Fundamental 1
TUESDAY'S SCORES
South Hills 4, La Salle 2
L.A. Marshall 8, Flintridge Prep 7
La Cañada 1, Arcadia 0
South Pasadena 15, Duarte 1
Whittier 8, Pasadena 1
Temple City 6, Gladstone 0
MONDAY'S SCORES
Baldwin Park 20, Rosemead 7
La Salle 26, Flintridge Prep 0
South Hills 6, L.A. Marshall 2
Schurr 13, Marshall Fundamental 2
Duarte 11, Pasadena 5
Whittier 2, South Pasadena 1
SATURDAY'S SCORES
L.A. Marshall 6, La Salle 2
South Hills 11, Flintridge Prep 1
La Canada 10, Rosemead 0
Arcadia 20, Baldwin Park 2
Whittier 12, Duarte 2
South Pasadena 11, Pasadena 1
Temple City 7, Pasadena Marshall 0
Schurr 4, Gladstone 0
Now this is interesting. The Washington Post is reporting that Coolidge High in D.C. hired Natalie Randolph to coach its varsity football team. The Post reports that according to Sydney Chambers, a sales consultant for the Clell-Wade Coaches Directory, which maintains a database of all coaches at U.S. colleges, high schools and junior highs, there was no woman among the 15,675 listings of public or private high school football coaches last season. Alan Goldenbach at The Washington Post writes:
When reached Tuesday afternoon, Randolph, 29, confirmed she had accepted the position, but declined to comment further. Coolidge Athletic Director Toby Strong referred all questions to school administration.
One person with knowledge of the situation said Randolph was introduced to the team after school on Tuesday. The boys on the team displayed some initial skepticism, this person said, but Randolph, who played professional football with the D.C. Divas, won them over."Some of the kids tried to test her knowledge of football, and she just shot them down," the person said. "At the end, they were clapping for her. They didn't know she played football."
The source who described the meeting asked not to be identified because school administration officials requested that this information not be released until Friday's news conference.
Stephen Spiewak at MaxPreps.com writes:
Women head coaches in boys sports are rare at the high school level in any sport. Among the more than 16,000 schools that have downloaded varsity football rosters and coaching information onto MaxPreps.com, no females head coaches could be traced.
I say good for her!
CIF STATE PLAYOFFS
SOCAL REGIONAL
TUESDAY'S SCORES
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION II
LIBERTY 69, KEPPEL 49 -- Liberty of Bakersfield used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to fuel its momentum, and didn't allow Keppel to get within nine in the first round of the Southern California Regional. The Aztecs (24-7) trailed 29-19 at the half. They were led by Sam Thim's 19 points. Timmy Wong was held to just eight points. Keppel made its deepest playoff run this season with a semifinal appearance in the CIF-SS Division 2A playoffs. It was the Aztecs' first appearance in the CIF State Playoffs.
PASADENA 64, UNIVERSITY 44 -- Pasadena overcame an unmotivated first quarter, kicked it into third gear in the second quarter and took off in the fourth, dispatching University High of Los Angeles, 64-44, in the first round of the Southern California Regional CIF State Division II playoffs Tuesday night. George Toyama finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Chris Bridges, who finished with five steals in the game, added 11 points. Fellow junior Todd Lewis Jr. also added 11 points. University was led by David Nwaba, who scored 20 points. Anthony Harris added 15. No other Wildcat player scored in double figures. Pasadena will visit Murrieta Valley in Thursday's second-round action.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
CIF STATE PLAYOFFS
SOCAL REGIONAL
TUESDAY'S SCORES
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION III
MUIR 52, FRONTIER of BAKERSFIELD 38 -- The Mustangs forced 30 turnovers and held visiting Frontier of Bakersfield to 30.6 percent shooting (15 of 49) en route to a 52-38 victory in the opening round of the Division III state playoffs.
DIVISION V
FRESNO CHRISTIAN 53, PASADENA POLY 49 -- The Eagles rallied from a 29-26 halftime deficit and made a clutch 3-point shot when the Panthers tried to rally back in the opening round of the Division V state playoffs in Fresno. "That week off hurt us," Poly coach Kim Weber said. "We didn't know if we were going to be in and out. We lost our wind and that was something that helped us throughout the season. In the first two minutes, I could see the gas already." The Panthers, who advanced to the CIF-SS Division 5A semifinals, typicall play with only two or three substitutes rotating in and out. Sophomore Michelle Miller, the state's leading scorer, had 26 points and nine steals. She had to guard 6-foot-4 Paige Armstrong-Maltos, who had 20 points.
If you're a high school football fan, this column from our Jim McConnell is a must read, guaranteed to capture you from start to end. I always wondered about Jack Friedman, and McConnell's column gives us that, and more. I can't believe I overlooked it this morning, but I'm posting it here as I'm sure you're going to love it.
JIM McCONNELL
JACK FRIEDMAN was the man who put the gold in the Golden Knights.
The most successful football coach in St. Francis High School history made quite an impact on the sport in the San Gabriel Valley. He'd take on any team at any time.
Despite the surname, Friedman was a devout Roman Catholic. He was a graduate of Loyola High in Los Angeles and Loyola University. He played football for both schools and played it well. However, he really didn't plan on a career in coaching, according to his son Dan Friedman.
"After college, dad was managing a paint store in Glendale," Dan Friedman, 59 and a resident of Covina, said. "Then someone in the parish found out he had played football so they asked him to coach the touch football team at Holy Family School there in Glendale.
"Then they opened this new high school in La Ca ada, St. Francis. And dad was asked to take over the football program there. I think you could say it turned out to be the right move, for the school and my dad."
Friedman, whose coaching idols were Knute Rockne and Woody Hayes, stressed a back-to-fundamentals approach. His St. Francis teams reflected his no-nonsense attitude and became winners.
"Dad always said he knew he was on the right track there in the late 1950s when St. Francis beat Mater Dei, coached by Dick Coury and quarterbacked by John Huarte," Dan Friedman said. "That proved that his teams could compete with the big boys, even though at the time St.
Francis had a far smaller enrollment than just about any team it played."
Friedman's St. Francis teams quickly became known for their intensity. Sturdy defense and a ball-control offense were the Knights' hallmarks. Friedman also tolerated no interference from fans or parents. You knew he was in charge.
To help set the coaches apart, all of the St. Francis staff wore white sports coats and black ties. Friedman also insisted all St. Francis students wear white shirts to the games. No clean white shirt, no entrance.
Success for the Knights arrived big time in the 1960s.
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Dave Perkin over at Baseball American just had to take a look for himself and see what the buzz was on Maranatha's Dylan Covey. In a very detailed piece, Perkins writes that Covey had a sensational start to the 2010 season. He also writes about the major upgrades Jackie Robinson Field desperately needs: Friday night's contest was played at scenic but aged Jackie Robinson Field, nestled within Brookside Park in Pasadena, only a few hundred yards from the Rose Bowl. To state it bluntly, Robinson Field needs updating. Observed one scout, "They could use a few more bulbs in those lights." I would add that the field needs new fences and a new scoreboard. But I digress ... Covey struck out 12 against Newbury Park. He struck out the side in the first, second, third and fifth innings. He allowed two unearned runs, one walk, and one hit, leading the Minutemen to a 3-2 lead when he left in the fifth. Maranatha, 6-3.
ANAHEIM -- Pasadena had plenty of chances to bring home its fifth CIF-Southern Section basketball championship. The Bulldogs defense was superb, but in the end it was their inability to knock down shots and capitalize on Eisenhower's woeful free throw shooting in a 52-43 loss in the Division 2A championship game Saturday afternoon at the Honda Center. Pasadena's four of its five starters shot 6 of 37 from the floor. Todd Lewis Jr. scored all of the Bulldogs' 11 points in the fourth quarter. Lewis, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, scored a game-high 21 points on 10 of 18 shooting. He was the lone Bulldogs (24-7) player to score in double figures. Eisenhower (28-5) converted only 17 of 32 free throws (53 percent), more than enough misses to allow the Bulldogs to stay within striking distance. "You can't win a CIF game when when four of your starters shoot like that, and commit 16 turnovers," Pasadena coach Tim Tucker said. The game was tied at 13 after the first quarter and the Bulldogs trailed 22-19 at the half. George Toyama scored nine points on 2 of 12 shooting; Tyler Barber scored three points on 1 of 9 shooting; Brandon Jolley scored three points on 1 for 4 shooting; and Chris Bridges scored five points on 2 of 12 shooting. Eisenhower won its second consecutive Division 2A championship behind Alex Varner's 17 points on 4 of 11 shooting. The Eagles begin their quest to defend their CIF State title. Pasadena qualifies for the State tournament, and most likely will be on the road when the tournament begins Tuesday. Brackets are released Sunday. Complete game story and side story of the game in Sunday's Star-News sports section.
ANOTHER VIEW
Eisenhower prevails, wins 2nd straight CIF title (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)
Ike goes back-to-back (Riverside Press Enterprise)
La Salle's, from left, shortstop Sterling Shuster, pitcher Allie Forillo and Victoria Baltazar, who plays second base, pose at La Salle. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/SPORTS)
In 2010, there's a new challenge at La Canada where Spartans coach KC Mathews will direct a freshman-loaded squad.
Meanwhile, San Marino is making the biggest leap in talent with the addition of a 6-foot-3 freshman pitcher, and Maranatha is looking to make another deep run in the playoffs.
But perhaps the most intriguing story this year is the immense talent returning at La Salle, which for the first time in 11 years features a new head coach in Rich Diaz. Despite the change at the top, the Lancers are hoping to make another trip to the title game. They have all the weapons needed, and that's what makes La Salle the top-ranked team in the Star-News' preseason rankings.
No. 1 La Salle (25-6)
The Lancers return one of the West San Gabriel Valley's best arms in Allie Forillo. The lone senior starter went 17-3 with a 1.68 ERA and struck out 197, well on her way to first-team Star-News All-Area and All-CIF honors.
"It's a huge boost for the team to have her back," La Salle coach Rich Diaz said. "To me she's the most dominating pitcher in the area. She has just one goal in mind and that's to get back to the title game, and obviously to win it."
La Salle came up short in the Division 6 final against Marymount, but Diaz feels confident the Lancers can make a triumphant return with six returning starters.
Sterling Shuster will provide a strong defensive presence at shortstop.
"Sterling is what I consider a five-tool player," Diaz said. "She can hit for power, for average, has a great glove, a great arm and is a clutch hitter. Whenever I need a hit she will deliver."
Sophomore Victoria Baltazar is a first-team All-Camino Real League selection returning at second base. She will also share pitching duties when Forillo is not in the pitcher's circle.
"She works hard and is mentally tough," Diaz said.
Baltazar started at right field last year but made a seamless transition at second base after the Lancers' Samantha Krost suffered an ankle injury, moving Shuster from second to replace Krost at shortstop.
La Salle will start seven underclassmen, including sophomores Colleen McWilliams (center field), Madison Worley (third base) and Meaghan Allen (catcher).
Michael Harper, who's been with the Lancers softball program since 1991, retired at season's end. Diaz was his assistant the past four years.
"I'm excited because I have a group that is willing to work hard to get back to the finals," Diaz said. "We're excited about the challenges that are waiting for us. We have a lot of confidence in this team."
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Continue reading Softball Preview: La Salle has sights on another title shot.
At least the Mustangs will have a chance at redemption - they'll play in the state tournament beginning next week. Pairings will be announced Sunday...
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF THURSDAY'S MUIR-SANTA MARGARITA GAME
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF THURSDAY'S GAME FROM THE OC REGISTER
CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S GAME STORY FROM THE OC REGISTER
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
SANTA ANA - It was the wrong time and the wrong place.
The Muir High School girls basketball team has done just about everything right this year. After starting the season with a 1-6 record, the Mustangs ran through opponents, winning 20 of 21 games. Then they finally got through that three-year stumper called the CIF-Southern Section semifinals.
It all fell apart, though, in Thursday night's Division 3A championship game against Santa Margarita. The Mustangs failed to get into any offensive rhythm and shot only 24.5 percent (12of49). Santa Margarita shot only slightly better but finally found its range en route to a 52-39 victory.
"It was the toughest I've ever had," Muir senior guard Taylor Gomez said.
It was the Mustangs' 12th appearance in a CIF-SS championship game, and for the 10th time Muir had to accept that it's the bridesmaid. It's Santa Margarita's second title in three tries.
"The shots and turnovers dug us a hole," Muir coach Gary Johnson said. "The shots just weren't falling. We weren't executing. Our offense looked bad. It wasn't that they were playing tough defense."
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Continue reading Girls Basketball: Muir loses in Division 3A title game.
Above: Maranatha's Dylan Covey, left, pitcher, Mark Jebbia, pitcher, Matt Chavez, 2nd base infielder, Danny Beckwith, pitcher, and infielder Schafer Chulay. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Walt Mancini)
It's hard to believe how the high school baseball season last year went from providing suspenseful league races to an abrupt end in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs.
In one day, six of seven area teams were knocked out in the first round. Pasadena Poly was the lone team to survive the first-day massacre. Alhambra and Maranatha got the job done when their first-round games got under way a few days later, but only the Minutemen and the Panthers advanced to the quarterfinals.
Pasadena Poly had a tough 83-mile ride back home after losing to Rosamond in the quarterfinals, again leaving Maranatha as the area's lone team standing in the playoffs.
The Minutemen dispatched pesky Tahquitz to reach their second consecutive Division V finals appearance. Maranatha, riding a brilliant performance by Dylan Covey, didn't disappoint en route to its second CIF baseball championship with a 3-1 win over Woodcrest Christian. The Minutemen return six of their nine starters from last year's team, which is why they're an easy No. 1 choice for the Star-News' preseason top 10 rankings.
No. 1 Maranatha (26-5)
Covey, the reigning Star-News player of the year, is expected to be a top 10 draft pick in this year's amateur draft. For that reason alone, the Minutemen are expected to dominate anytime Covey is on the mound. He'll have a strong supporting cast with Schafer Chulay (third base), Mark Jebbia (shortstop), Matt Chavez (second base) and Danny Beckwith (first base/pitcher). Maranatha doesn't have a true No. 2 pitcher like it had with Cory Popham last year.
"At first I was uneasy about not having a stand-alone No. 2 pitcher," coach Brian DeHaan said. "But the truth is when I look at it now we're almost stronger not having a No. 2 because we have so many arms that can go on any day. We're not going to depend on two guys to carry us through the season."
Maranatha will try to show the rest of the area it can win when Covey is not on the mound.
"Obviously our biggest strength is Dylan Covey, but he's one guy," DeHaan said. "He's not one team. When he's on the mound he can give us an opportunity to win every game. We won 26 games last year, Covey won 11 of them. Somehow we won 15 other games."
Covey will bat fourth in the lineup. Aside from bringing a fastball that reaches the high 90s, Covey also brings a strong defensive arm out of center field. But that's not all he brings.
"He adds a lot to our team and more in the intangibles," DeHaan said. "His desire to win, desire for his teammates to play well. He can have a great game and if we lose, he's frustrated. You don't get that much anymore."
CLICK ON THREAD TO CONTINUE WITH TOP 10
Continue reading 2010 Baseball Preview: Maranatha atop rankings.
CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
DIVISION 3A CHAMPIONSHIP
TONIGHT, 6:30 P.M.
AT MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL
NO. 3 MUIR (21-7) vs. NO. 1 SANTA MARGARITA (23-6)
ANOTHER VIEW
Division 3A championship preview capsule (Orange County Register)
High school basketball championships (Los Angeles Times)
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
For the past three years, Muir High School seniors Daysha Thomas, Taylor Gomez and Jermani Daniels have had to endure three consecutive losses in semifinal games.
But not this year.
The third-seeded Mustangs finally will be playing for a title when they face top-seeded Santa Margarita today at 6:30 p.m. at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana in the Division 3A tournament.
"(The semifinal) was our Achilles' heel. We're going to go for it," Muir coach Gary Johnson said. "The girls have been excited all week. They're excited, they've been playing well and have been practicing hard. It's the first time for them."
The previous three Muir teams never lost a Pacific League game and lost a total of nine games.
The Mustangs started this season 1-6 and lost seven games, including 61-50 to Crescenta Valley, ending a 51-game league winning streak. The Mustangs did it without a single NCAA Division I-bound player. Since that start, Muir is 20-1.
Gomez is averaging 12.0 points and 3.1 assists per game. Thomas is averaging 11.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, junior Ashia Owens 9.3 points per game and Daniels 6.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Tonight's game will be Muir's 12th championship game appearance and the Mustangs' first since 2004. They have won the title twice, in 1997 with a 45-41 victory over Alemany and in 1990 with a 56-49 win over Ventura. The 1990 Muir team advanced to the state title game but lost to San Ramon, 47-44.
"They're one of the premier programs," Santa Margarita coach Matt Houser said. "They have a lot of tradition. For us, this is a dream come true."
The Catholic school won a CIF-SS title in 2005 by defeating Morningside, 54-46. The Eagles also played in a title game in 2003 but lost to Artesia, 57-55.
The Eagles, 23-6, feature three NCAA-bound players: Melissa Zornig, who is heading to UC Santa Barbara; Cal State Bakersfield-bound point guard Madison McKenney and 6-4 center Elise Lorenz, who will play at Connecticut's Sacred Heart University next season.
Zornig is averaging 23.9 points per game this season.
"She is one of the best players in California," Houser said.
Both teams likely will advance to next week's state tournament.
keith.lair@sgvn.com
Above:Mountain View does it again, wins in PK's and earns a shot to defend its Division 6 title.
Pasadena Poly's biggest playoff run in a decade ended Tuesday afternoon after Mountain View pulled out a 4-3 win on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 playoffs. Julio Fernandez scored in the 52nd minute off a free kick to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Adam Burpee scored in the 74th minute to tie the game at 1-1. After two scoreless overtime periods, the game went into penalty kicks where both teams converted their first three attempts for a 3-3 tie. Both teams missed their next two attempts, setting up Jesus Ordaz to score and give Mountain View 4-3 lead. Pasadena Poly missed its next penalty attempt as it went wide right. The miss ended the game and sent the boisterous home crowd into a frenzy and give Mountain View a chance to defend its divisional title. The Vikings will play the Oak Hills-Brentwood game Saturday at a time and time to be determined. Full report with photo in Wednesday's Star-News.
Jude Oliva has been named San Gabriel's next football coach. Oliva, the Matadors' offensive coordinator, takes over Keith Jones who not long ago resigned. We'll have a story and reaction as we get more details.
Baseball's just three days upon us, so you know it's time to start debating the preseason top 10. I'm leaving that up to you guys because you guys do it best. The baseball preview with the top 10 will run Thursday in the Star-News. I'll be working on that the rest of the week and try to gather as many tournament schedules between now and then. If you guys send those schedules I'll post them on the blog and update the results as it goes along. E-mail brackets/results to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com .... Here's what we have so far:
FRIDAY'S OPENING DAY SCHEDULE
ARCADIA ELKS TOURNAMENT
Sierra Vista at Pasadena, 3:15 p.m.
Western Christian at Duarte, 3:15 p.m.
El Monte at Beverly Hills, 3:15 p.m.
San Gabriel at Mountain View, 3:15 p.m.
Rosemead at San Marino, 3:15 p.m.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INVITATIONAL
GOLD: Maranatha vs. Newbury Park at Jackie Robinson;
BLUE: Flintridge Prep vs. Santa Paula; La Canada at Nordhoff;
Here's a little Monrovia-Arcadia action. The Wildcats' Aaron Murphee hits a grand slam at Arcadia ...Can you feel it?!?!
You wanted more blog coverage for softball, well you got it. Starting this season, I will cover both baseball and softball for the blog. Keith Lair will continue helping with coverage, but softball will rule here on the blog, too. I'll post topics throughout the day when (my favorite) season begins, but feel free to suggest some topics and I'll get to it. The softball preview will run Friday in the Star-News. I have the task of putting together the top 10, something I'll be working on over the next few days with playoffs winding down. La Salle, the Division VI runner-up last year, brings back Allie Forillo, but are they the No. 1 team in the Star-News area? Now's the time to decide ... If you want your tournament schedules/results posted here, be sure to e-mail the brackets and daily results to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com
Above: Does Alverno have enough to stop Sierra Vista's Lizbeth Rodriguez (No. 11 above) and Vanessa Carlos?
CIF-SS PLAYOFFS
SEMIFINALS
TODAY
DIVISION 2
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART vs. BECKMAN at IRVINE HS, 7 p.m. -- No. 2 seed Flintridge Sacred Heart (19-1-3) will take on No. 3 seed Beckman (18-2-1) in the Division 2 semifinals at 7 tonight at Irvine High. The Tologs, the 11th-ranked team in the nation, rallied in the second half last week to avenge a second-round loss of a year ago and beat defending champion Saugus, 3-2. Beckman will try to avenge a 2-1 loss to Flintridge Sacred Heart from back in December in the Los Tacos Tournament, which the Tologs won.
CIF-SS PLAYOFFS
SEMIFINALS
TODAY
DIVISION 7
ALVERNO at SIERRA VISTA, 3 p.m. -- Alverno (16-5-1) visits second-seeded Sierra Vista (23-3) at 3 today. The Jaguars, the defending champions, feature three girls who have scored more than 25 goals this season: Jessica Capra (30), Cassie Saavadra (27) and Celina Minissian (26). Briana Alvarado has 15 goals and 16 assists and Maha Abdallah has 12 goals and 14 assists. For the Dons to advance to their first championship game in school history, they will have to defeat the defending champions today for a second time this season, having easily beaten the Jaguars 4-1 on Dec. 2. Sierra Vista (97) hasn't scored as many goals as Alverno (141), but the Dons have allowed only 15 goals to the Jaguars' 24. Sierra Vista has several players who can scorch the net, too. Vanessa Carlos leads the team with 30 goals and 25 assists and fellow midfielder Lizbeth Rodriguez has 21 goals and 27 assists.
CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
DIVISION 2A CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY, 12:30 P.M.
AT HONDA CENTER
NO. 2 PASADENA (24-6) vs. NO. 1 EISENHOWER (27-5)
The top two seeds will meet when No. 2 Pasadena (24-6) takes on No. 1 Eisenhower (27-5) in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2A championship game. The Bulldogs are making their first finals appearance since winning it all in 2007. Pasadena rid its two-year dry spell of second-round exits, a notion that's haunted the Bulldogs the last couple years. Pasadena's swarming defense was key in returning to the finals, but it also helped that the Bulldogs made giant strides as the season progressed. Turnovers and poor shot selections stymied Pasadena early in the season, particularly in tournament play. The Bulldogs, however, improved as they approached Pacific League play on minimizing turnovers and letting their defense create the offense. By late league season, Pasadena was playing stellar defense and growing comfortable with its new lineup. That's exactly how Pasadena has won its last three playoff games. Case in point ... Mira Costa in the quarterfinals had Pasadena by the ropes as the Bulldogs found themselves trailing at the half for the first time. The third quarter, however, was all Pasadena, Nick Holden hitting a layup at the buzzer to tie the game and help the Bulldogs take complete control in the fourth. The same thing happened last Friday when Pasadena came out hot in the third quarter, thanks to Tyler Barber who hit his first four shot attempts to help the Bulldogs and Chris Bridges making five third-quarter steals to help PHS pull away from a dangerous Keppel team making its first semifinals appearance in school history. There were a couple hundred fans who were kept out of the Keppel-PHS game last Friday. That was bound to happen when a game of that magnitude was played at Muir. "The site served its purpose," Pasadena coach Tim Tucker said. "It served as an advantage because we've played our semifinals there before. The thing about it is that it's a coin flip. They very well could have won the flip and we would have played wherever they wanted to play the game. We needed to play somewhere where we were comfortable, and Muir was the place." On a side note ... thanks to all of you who clicked on our Keppel-PHS photo gallery. We've had well over 25,000 hits since we posted the link.
OTHER GAMES AT THE HONDA CENTER ON SATURDAY
Tickets $13, $8, $8; Parking $15
9:00 a.m. - Boys Division 3A - Serra vs. Centennial/Compton
10:45 a.m. - Boys Division 2AA - Murrieta Valley vs. Compton
2:15 p.m. - Boys Division 1A - Santa Monica vs. Leuzinger
6:30 p.m. - Boys Division 1AA - Mater Dei vs. Etiwanda
8:15 p.m. - Boys Division 3AA - Ocean View vs. Foothill
CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
DIVISION 3A CHAMPIONSHIP
THURSDAY, 6:30 P.M.
AT MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL
NO. 3 MUIR (21-7) vs. NO. 1 SANTA MARGARITA (23-6)
THE VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Zornig leads Santa Margarita into 3A title game (The Orange County Register)
How is it that this Muir team is in the CIF-Southern Section divisional finals when last year's super star team featuring Eliza Pierre (Cal) and Brittany Henderson (Kentucky) couldn't get past the semifinals? The answer is not all that complicated, really. For starters, Muir played against some major powerhouses last year that included Inglewood, the team that ousted the Mustangs in the semifinals and went on to win the divisional title. This year, Muir still is playing in Division 3A, but powerhouses such as Inglewood and Bishop Amat have moved to Division 3AA where Inglewood is the No. 2 seed. Muir is making its first finals appearance since losing to Bishop Amat in 2005 after beating Barstow 58-39 in Saturday's semifinals at Barstow College. Muir (21-7) used an impressive 12-0 run in the third quarter and a suffocating defense to put the game out of reach. The Division 3A tournament had really only one powerhouse, and that's Santa Margarita. Barstow was the No. 2 seed and Muir the No. 3 seed, but the Mustangs won with ease. The road to the finals was easier for the Mustangs, plain and simple, but they also got there because they started playing with some cohesiveness as the season wore on. "We ran into a good Inglewood team (last year)," Muir coach Gary Johnson said. "We basically jelled at the right time, right now. We don't really have any superstars. A lot of girls are playing their roles and we get everybody scoring, from 12 to 11, to nine, eight, eight. We're very balanced on the offensive category." As opposed to last year when the rest of the team heavily depended on Pierre and Henderson to bail them out. This year's team has taken it upon themselves to share the load on both ends of the court.
OTHER GAMES AT MATER DEI ON THURSDAY
Tickets $9, $5
4:30 p.m. - Girls Division 5A - St. Anthony vs. Montclair Prep
8:30 p.m. - Girls Division 1A - Summit vs. Santa Monica
About this blog
 |
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
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Observantcat on Football: Muir freshman Darick Holmes Jr., a running back/all-everything, picks up first offer from UCLA. : If the Mustangs focus on giving this kid a Line for the next three yea ...
Muir Track Coach on Football: Muir freshman Darick Holmes Jr., a running back/all-everything, picks up first offer from UCLA. : Congrats young DJ!!!! Stay focused and be humble. Don't get big headed ...
Muir Track Coach on Football: Muir freshman Darick Holmes Jr., a running back/all-everything, picks up first offer from UCLA. : Congrats young DJ!!!! Stay focused and be humble. Don't get big headed ...