1. KEEP HEYWORTH COMFORTABLE: Blake Heyworth is not a mobile quarterback. He has a quick release, which is what makes him a true passer. If he gets flushed out of the pocket that puts him out of his element. Any hurry, take down or sack will give San Gabriel momentum. Monrovia’s O-Line has done a superb job of giving Heyworth (2,276 yards, 24 touchdowns) plenty of time to go through his progressions. Keep it going.

2. ESTABLISH THE RUN: San Gabriel’s defensie front of Mackenzie Ferro, Carlos Purser, Hunter Garcia and Joshua Baca are a physical bunch. The fearsome foursome have 23 of San Gabriel’s 26 sacks. Marquise Bias can’t soley rely on his strength to get his yards. San Gabriel is a determined group, but if the Wildcats are to exploit the secodary holes they’ll first have to get the Matadors to commit stopping the run.

3. CONTAIN VILLALOBOS, GUERRERO: Alex Villalobos (1,818 yards, 19 touchdowns) is two inches short of being a legitimate Division I receiver. His numbrs say otherwise, but Villalobos has never let his size stop him. Even when he has been contained (like against Maranatha), Villalobos finds a way to make an impact, be it on special teams or defensively. Guerrero is another Nick Bueno. Guerrero has passed for 2,999 yards and rushed for 1,371 yards. He’s combined for 40 touchdowns through the air and on the ground. He may be the X-factor. If he gets out of the pocket, watch out.

4. MINIMIZE PENALTIES: Monrovia can’t get sloppy just because it’s the superior team. San Dimas lost last week despite rushing for 356 yards. How was that even possible? 17 penalties, that’s how.

5. STAY GROUNDED: OK, we all know Monrovia is heavily favored to win this game. But just because that’s the case the Wildcats can’t come into this game too confident. Respect your opponent and let your play show why you’re heavily favored. Monrovia coach Ryan Maddox said coming into this game over confident won’t be an issue. I believe Maddox when he says that, but you can never stress it.

1. CONTAIN THE BIG PLAY: Monrovia can put teams away with minimum plays. If San Gabriel can’t contain the big plays you can bet it’ll be a long night for the Matadors. Monrovia is capable of scoring easy with deep pass plays or on a run that gets away becuase of poor tackling. It’s that simple, and, yes, De’Shawn Ramirez and Marquise Bias are that good.

2. PROTECT YOUR QB: Andy Guerrero could take a beating if his line gets too overwhelmed. Guerrero’s success can be credited to an O-Line that’s found a way to give him just enough time to find the open receiver or open lanes. Word to Guerrero: throw the ball away and run for your life when 18 comes your way. Beware of giving away blind spots, take advantage of bubble screeens and keep the defense guessing.

3. COMMUNICATION: There’s no way San Gabriel can line up with man coverage against Monrovia. Just. No. Way. Monrovia’s size, speed and athleticism dwarfs San Gabriel’s. This is going to sound like a cliche, but total team effort is the ONLY way the Matadors have a chance. So when San Gabriel is defending in zone communication will be key. Where’s the receiver? What happens if….? San Gabriel is gonna have to rally to the ball and not allow for confusion to slip in. Joey Villalobos (140 tackles, three interceptions) will anchor the secondary, but he’s going to need help when receivers break loose.

4. CONTROL THE PACE: San Gabriel its offense to stay on the field. Three-and-out ain’t gonna cut it because San Gabriel doesn’t have the weapons to trade punches with Monrovia. For every Andy Guerrero and Alex Villalobos ther’s a Blake Heyworth, De’Shawn Ramirez, Marquise Bias, Luke Williams, Marquise Harris, Anthony Craft, Mason Bryant, etc. Somehow, some way, San Gabriel needs to keep this game close. If it’s withine two possessions in the third quarter, who knows? Upset alert?

5. KEEP FOCUS: Last but not least, San Gabriel can’t get flustered by all the hype. They’ll have to find a way to keep their nerves calm, though it may prove easier said than done. San Gabriel is making its first finals appearance since 2003, but this team was barely old enough to really know that Santa Claus doesn’t exist the last time the Matadors were here. Jude Oliva and Don Bernard were part of the 2003 coaching staff. They’ll have to do everything they can to tell them every detail and what to expect on Saturday. This will truly be a home game for Monrovia with the game actually at Monrovia. A lot of green everywhere and a huge sign on the scoreboard to remind San Gabriel whose division it belongs. Keep the miscues to a minimum. Monrovia can really exploit that and make you pay for them. Penalties negating plays and pushing San Gabriel back will only make the uphill battle that much steeper.

Above: San Gabriel’s majestic entrance is a thing of beauty.

I meant to write this story for the paper this week but I just couldn’t get to it in time so here it is on the blog.

San Gabriel, in my opinion, has one of the coolest entrances to a footbal stadium. I first witnessed this in the opener against Muir and I was really taken by surprise. I enjoyed it because, hey, what Mexican doesn’t like mariachi music. The crowd went wild and Muir looked on wondering what was going on. Can you imagine the look on the other team’s faces? Maranatha also saw this when it played at San Gabriel in the playoff opener.

If you haven’t been to a San Gabriel home game, press play on the YouTube video I posted and picture this:

The mariachi music comes on as the football players are met with a roaring applause. They march in a single line from the top of the home stands, in between the boosters sitting on the 50-yard line and proceed down onto the field. It’s usually Vicente Fernandez’s music blaring from the speakers. On any given home game they’ll play one of his most popular songs. From “Duelo a Caballo” to, one of my personal favorites, “El Rey.”

So how did it start?

It started three years ago during San Gabriel’s homecoming game. There were pre-game fetivities on the field, so the Matadors thought they would warm-up on an adjacent field and then head to the locker before making their way back onto the field.

One problem: The gates to get back onto the field were locked. A quick check at another gate also revealed a locked gate. Keith Jones, the head coach at the time, had left his keys in the locker room, so the Matadors had no choice but to walk up and enter the stadium where fans make their way onto the home bleachers. San Gabriel proceeded to march down the bleachers closest to the scoreboard.

“Everyone started going nuts,” Jude Oliva recalled. “They went nuts because it was homecoming and they thought we planned some kind of special entrance.”

Oliva’s mind went to work.

“I had seen where the University of Clemson came down in very similar fashion, through the tunnel and down the hill,” Oliva said. “The fans were surrounding them and giving them a lot of love. I approached coach Jones and told him it’d be cool if we came through the middle of the stands where the boosters sit, close to the 50-yard line.”

The kids then asked for a soundtrack to their march, and the boosters took it from there.

“We saw how La Habra enters with what the Blue Man Group does with fire extinguishers,” Oliva said. “We added a fog machine and adding to it every week.”

So how did San Gabriel settle on mariachi music this season?

“A lot of our kids and coaches are Latinos and grew up in the Latino culture,” Oliva explained. “We all love mariachi so that seemed natural. The kids thought it’d be cool to come down like boxing prize fighters.”

San Gabriel is predominantly Latino, with the exception of Mackenzie Ferro, Maurice Le, Donald Toung, Quy Thong, Jimmy Nguyen and twins Wayne and Daniel Pollock.

Ferro, a senior linemen, grew up his whole life with senior wide receiver Alex Villalobos, so he embraces the Latino culture.

“And I know we have a few Asian kids,” Oliva says, “But they always tell me, ‘Coach, I know we’re Asian but we have a brown heart.'”

No way Monrovia plays mariachi for San Gabriel on Saturday, but if the Matadors pull off the biggest upset in school history, don’t be surprised if they’re marching back to the bus singing in full-lung capacity “….pero sigo siendo El Reeeeeeeey”

MID-VALLEY DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP: San Gabriel at Monrovia, 7:30 p.m.

NORTHEAST DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP: Desert Chr. at Rio Hondo Prep, 7 p.m.

Editor’s Note: San Gabriel’s run up to the 2003 CIF-SS Division VII title game against South Hills was a memorable one. The Star-News takes a look back at the events that led up to the big game.

The setting was intimidating.

San Gabriel High School had never in its then-49-year history won a playoff game prior to 2003. So you can imagine the nerves as the Matadors made their way into The Grand in Long Beach to take part in the CIF-Southern Section press conference and luncheon, where suddenly they stood among some of the elite high school football programs in the Southland.

San Gabriel earned an invitation after making an improbable run to the then-DivisionVII title game against powerhouse South Hills.

Matadors coach Keith Jones was flanked by a delegate of players, among them starting senior wide receiver/cornerback Juan Magallon, who recalled San Gabriel’s run up to the title game like it was yesterday when reached by phone on Wednesday.

“It was intimidating at first,” Magallon recalled walking into the luncheon. “We could tell all these other coaches and players had been there before. But they started talking about how great our team was, and it felt right us being there. Everything we had done we earned the right to be there.”

San Gabriel went unbeaten in nonleague play before an Almont League-opening loss to Schurr. But the Matadors didn’t lose hope, winning three of their next four games to make the playoffs.

Eight years later, San Gabriel finds itself in a similar position as the Matadors (9-4) prepare to take on Monrovia (10-3) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division championship game.

CLICK ON THREAD TO CONTINUE READING
Continue reading “Football: Remembering San Gabriel’s magical run in ’03.” »