By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer

MONROVIA – Ellis McCarthy can count himself among the elite high school football players in the country.

It’s not as if the 6-foot-5, 311-pound defensive lineman hasn’t played like one of the best, but that status became official during a press conference Monday morning when McCarthy was officially invited to play in January’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

In front of family, friends, teammates and Monrovia football coach Ryan Maddox, McCarthy was presented with an All-American jersey during the U.S. Army’s Selection Tour that culminates with the game televised live on NBC.

The selection tour, which travels to more than 180 high schools to officially announce each All-American athlete, continues today at noon at Muir High School, where four-star recruit Kevon Seymour will receive his jersey

It’s believed to be the first time the San Gabriel Valley has produced two U.S. Army All-Americans the same year. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl has produced 49 NFL first rounders, including seven Super Bowl champions, 30 Pro Bowl selections and five Rookies of the Year. It’s also produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Florida’s Tim Tebow.

McCarthy’s handled the attention like a veteran, remaining humble throughout the whirlwind process, and it’s that demeanor that makes him arguably the most coveted recruit in the nation.

“That’s what everybody says, and it’s nice to see that,” Maddox said. “From the coaches to the media to everybody that talks to Ellis, he remains humble. It speaks of his family upbringing and the great job his parents have done raising him.
“It’s good to see, because it can quickly go the other way with a lot of kids. They don’t know how to handle newfound success and fame, and it kind of goes to their head, but Ellis has managed to keep an even keel, and he hasn’t changed as a person.”

Maddox also was invited to San Antonio, where he’ll take part in the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, designed for 100 of the nation’s top high school coaches and featuring NFL and NCAA clinicians.

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By Keith Lair, Staff Writer

PASADENA – What a difference one year makes.

La Salle High School’s Daniel De La Torre is now lining up against the state’s elite runners. Last year, that scenario would’ve been unimaginable.

“Last year I saw (Loyola’s) Elias (Geydon), (Arcadia’s) Ammar (Moussa) and (South Pasadena’s) Sam (Pons) and I told myself I want to be elite just like them,” the junior said. “What I realized was that when you run a race, no matter who you are racing, they’re just human. They are just like you. If you work hard enough, you can beat them.”

De La Torre is currently the top-ranked runner in the CIF-Southern Section’s Division 4 heading into this weekend’s 64th annual Mt. SAC Invitational.

In the Clovis Invitational two weeks ago, De La Torre lined up against this year’s elite class for the first time, on the same 3-mile Woodward Park course that will be used in November’s CIF State meet. That meant facing Buchanan’s C.J. Albertson and Knight’s Bryan Guijarro.

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I’m on my way to catch Ellis McCarthy’s press conference for his Army Bowl jersey presentation. When I get back, or later this week, I’ll elaborate on my picks and give you my reasons for picking Rio Hondo Prep and Maranatha to win this week. If there are any changes or if I have your team scheduled on the incorrect day/time, please leave a comment on here so we can coordinate. Thanks.

WEEK 7 SCHEDULE WITH PREDICTIONS
Thursday’s game
Marshall vs. Kilpatrick at Pasadena, 7 p.m.

Friday’s games
Alhambra at Schurr, 7 p.m. — Alhambra
San Gabriel at Keppel, 7 p.m. — San Gabriel
Bosco Tech at Bishop Montgomery, 6 p.m. — Bosco Tech
St. Francis at Serra, 7 p.m. — St. Francis
Rosemead at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. — Rosemead
Workman at Duarte, 7 p.m. — Workman
Whittier Christian at Maranatha, 7 p.m. — Maranatha
Glendale at Muir, 7 p.m. — Muir
Burbank at Pasadena, 7 p.m. — Pasadena
Blair at Monrovia, 7 p.m. — Monrovia
La Canada at South Pasadena, 7 p.m. — South Pasadena
Temple City at San Marino, 7 p.m. — San Marino

Saturday’s games
La Salle vs. Verbum Dei at L.A. Southwest College, 7 p.m. — Verbum Dei
Flintridge Prep vs. Viewpoint at Occidental College, 7 p.m. — Viewpoint
Rio Hondo Prep at Pasadena Poly, 3 p.m. — Rio Hondo Prep

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Tonight’s games with predictions

St. Francis 23, Harvard-Westlake 20 — Billy McCreary hits three field goals, none more important than his 37-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Golden Knights a come-from-behind win. St. Francis trailed 20-10 in the third quarter and stormed back with an impressive defensive stand late in the third quarter, then again late in the fourth quarter to force Harvard Westlake to punt. Jared Lebowitz was impressive once again, and Travis Talianko, Austin De Los Santos and Christian Hess made huge plays to keep important drives alive in the second half.

Arcadia 38, Burbank 7 — Myles Carr had 158 yards passing, 151 yards of which were in the first half. He finished with three touchdowns. Taylor Lagace had 91 yards total offense, including a 57-yard touchdown catch. Arcadia’s Jake Medel came up big with 161 yards rushing. Arcadia’s Zan Williams had a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Apaches also recorded two safeties.

San Marino 55, Blair 0 — San Marino had an easy time scoring 48 points in the first half. Their second and third strong played the whole second half. Kwame Do ran for 137 yards on 10 carries and touchdowns of 9, 3, 26 in the first half. Nick Gott had 49 yards on 4 carries and scores of 14 and 28 yards. Blair was held to 78 yards of total offense and did not make it across their own 50. They had 4 fumbled, 2 recovered by the defense and three 4 interceptions, the first was returned 27 yards for a touchdown by San Marino’s Kieran Ryan.

South Pasadena 28, Temple City 6 — South Pasadena took advantage of the fact Temple City did not have starting quarterback Mikal Quintanilla, who was in street clothes. According to sources, Quintanilla was out with a concussion possibly suffered in last week’s game. South Pasadena’s Bertin Ngnibogha returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown and also had an interception.

Pasadena 53, Crescenta Valley 42 — Brandon Cox passed for 273 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for two touchdowns to pull the upset over the Falcons. Riian Simpson caught five passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Crescneta Valley was up 28-27 at the half. In the third quarter, Pasadena shut out Crescenta Valley, 14-0. Told you guys the upset was coming. You heard it here first.

Muir 42, Hoover 0 — The Mustangs defense dominated Hoover, limiting them to 94 total offensive yards. Kevon Seymour recorded an interception in the first half before going out with an injury early in the second half. Injury doesn’t seem to be too serious (according to interim coach Dave Mitchell). The Mustangs scored on the very first drive of the game with a Joshua Muema-Washington 18-yard pass to Darick Holmes. Joshua Muema-Washington was 11 of 18 for 151 yards and 3 TDs. Travonta Herod rushed for 97 yards on 10 carries with 2 TDs. Lamarr McDaniels played big for the defense recording two sacks. The Mustangs improve to 3-3, 1-2 and Hoover falls to 0-6, 0-3.

San Gabriel 48, Montebello 17 — Andy Guerrero had an awesome game, completing 19 of 22 passes for 204 yards, three touchdowns and one rushing touchdown and 100 yards on 16 carries. Defensively, the Matadors had three sacks, an interception, forced four fumbles (recovered three) and one fumble returned for a touchdown by Hunter Garcia for 63 yards. San Gabriel’s Chris Valdez recorded the interception.

OTHER SCORES
Rio Hondo Prep 50, Viewpoint 14
El Monte 31, Rosemead 28
Alhambra 32, Keppel 7
Sierra Canyon 49, Marshall 16
South El Monte 13, Gabrielino 10

LIVE TWITTER UPDATES FROM HARVARD WESTLAKE-ST. FRANCIS GAME

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – Monrovia High School was missing its two marquee defensive players, but the Wildcats did not miss a beat in their Rio Hondo League opener Thursday night.

Highly recruited defensive lineman Ellis McCarthy and junior middle linebacker George Frazier V were suited up but did not play in the visiting Wildcats’ 47-2 victory over La Caada.

“The kids that were in really, really stepped up,” Monrovia coach Ryan Maddox said. “We have some people beat up, but we were lucky and fortunate we did not need them. We have to get healthy and better each week.”

The Wildcats defense held the Spartans to 80 rushing yards and 94 total yards. The Spartans’ two points were scored when the ball was snapped over the head of Monrovia punter Brandon Wingenbach and out of the end zone in the third quarter.

“We knew they were going to try and stop the run,” La Caada coach Dan Yoder said. “We felt like if we got to that first level, we would be OK. A few times we did. We just never were able to bust one.

“We couldn’t string a bunch of them together.”

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