Discuss anything and everything you want to talk about … As always, we welcome your nominations for boys and girls athletes of the week.

First San Dimas goes down and now Monrovia. So much for that No. 1 ranking in the CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley Division. The Wildcats undoubtedly will move down at least one spot after their turnover-marred performance in a 21-7 loss to Glendora in the season opener. I really thought Monrovia would win, and by all accounts the Wildcats were in the thick of it until turnovers stymied Monrovia. As I thought he would, Ellis McCarthy, to put it lightly, made it uneasy for Glendora’s Chad Jeffries. McCarthy had four sacks, and it mattered little that he saw double coverage. I wasn’t sure losing De’Shawn Ramirez would have made this big an impact, but it did, meaning Derrick Johnson doubled his load offensively as our blogger Observantcat noted in a post Friday.

Monrovia definitely gets a good task Friday night when it hosts Arcadia. The Apaches played tough against a solid St. Francis team. Taylor Lagace will be a tough assignment for the Monrovia secondary. He was a nightmare for St. Francis. Arcadia struggled holding on to the ball and in the red zone. Two of Lagace’s touchdowns came on plays longer than 25 yards and he returned another on an interception return. Rodney Arnett looks faster than before. The two-back rotation along with David Maldonado can work for the Apaches, and that’s a dangerous weapon Arcadia didn’t utilize as much last year, what with injuries and all.

St. Francis recorded a couple sacks and interceptions. The defense looks good, but it was clear they were bothered by the big plays given up to Lagace. “We can’t let one guy beat us” was the overall sentiment after a big Lagace play. Lagace is just that good. St. Francis saw it coming, but that mattered little, especially when Arcadia QB Myles Carr connected with Lagace for a 25-yard score. Senior running back Michael Melnick was impressive, but he must start the game with as much intensity as he played with in the second half. Still, Melnick managed to break my new clipboard on a run play that spilled to the St. Francis sidelines. I didn’t like that clipboard anyway.

There was a bizzare play in the second half that resulted in a St. Francis 15-yard penalty. After a long play that would have marked the ball deep into Apaches territory, St. Francis was hit with a sidelines warning when a game official apparently ran into a photographer. The photographer didn’t appear to be with any news outlet, and you can bet he was scolded for costing the Golden Knights 15 yards. This was bound to happen. There always are way too many people on the sidelines who don’t belong, and don’t even get me started with no space in the press box. The penalty, however, only delayed a sure touchdown.

Muir’s would-be showdown against Bishop Amat may have lost a little bit of its luster after news of Jeffrey Davis going down with an injury in the Mustangs’ 28-14 loss to Saugus. We’ll bring you the latest on Davis’ injury.

Too many teams in search for their first win in Week 2. Monrovia, Arcadia, Temple City, Alhambra, San Gabriel, etc. Not sure how I feel about that, and how that speaks about the state of the West San Gabriel Valley in 2010. I think San Gabriel at 0-2 has got to be the biggest surprise. South Pasadena sent shock waves with its 22-9 win, and it was Patrick Martin who garnered the headlines this time around. Finally the Tigers showed they can produce on the run.

Should be an interesting week as the season shapes out.

Thursday’s games
South Pasadena vs. Hoover at Glendale, 7 p.m.
Duarte vs. Garey at Ganesha, 7 p.m.

Friday’s Games
Muir at Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m.
Arcadia at Monrovia, 7 p.m.
Temple City vs. Ahambra at Moor Field, 7 p.m.
St. Francis vs. Crescenta Valley at Glendale, 7 p.m.
Rosemead at Rowland, 7 p.m.
San Marino at La Salle, 7 p.m.
Burbank at San Gabriel, 7 p.m.
Glendale at La Canada, 7 p.m.
Cathedral at Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Keppel at Gabrielino, 7 p.m.
Marshall at Pasadena Poly, 3:45 p.m.
Bosco Tech vs. Gladstone at Citrus College, 7 p.m.
Santa Maria at Maranatha, 7 p.m.
Kilpatrick at Rio Hondo Prep, 7:30 p.m.
Flintridge Prep vs. Grace Brethren at Moorpark College, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s Games
No games scheduled