Hall of Fame Tonight: East coach Dale Ziola confident his secondary can hold up vs. Guerrero/Rivera QB combo for West …

What: San Gabriel Valley Hall of Fame Game
Who: East vs. West
Where: West Covina, High School
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

There’s absolutely no secret what the West team is going to try to do in Friday’s Hall of Fame All-Star Game in order to get some respect back for its side of the Valley. And, of course, it’s also no secret what the East will try to do to keep its recent string of series dominance in tact.

The top recently graduated high school football seniors will renew the East vs. West rivalry tonight at West Covina High. Introductions are 7 p.m. and kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

When rosters for the game were announced earlier this month, the huge advantage the West had at quarterback was glaring. Tribune Player of the Year Steven Rivera of Arroyo and Star-News Player of the Year Andy Guerrero of San Gabriel combined to throw for 6,669 yards and 67 touchdowns last season.

Now teammates, both quarterback have been very vocal about getting the West back some respect after the East increased its series lead to 20-10-2 with a 7-6 win last season. It’s a sentiment that has obviously trickled down to the rest of the roster.

“I definitely think we have the right approach and attitude about the game,” said West coach Jude Oliva, who led San Gabriel to a 9-5 record last season. “A lot of the kids have a great understanding of the history of this game and know the West hasn’t been successful the last couple years. They’ve come in here and have been talking about trying to end the streak.”

Wisely, Oliva is making no bones about his team’s desire to air it out tonight and ride the arms of Guerrero and Rivera as far as they can. That means a host of West weapons should see plenty of chances to make big plays.

Muir running back Tairen Owens and Monrovia’s Marquise Bias headline the backfield. Monrovia all-purpose threat De’Shawn Ramirez and San Gabriel speedster Alex Villalobos could have huge nights if Guerrero and Rivera have their way.

Trouble is, East coach Dale Ziola said his team is well aware of the firepower the West has stockpiled and will look to counteract it with a talented secondary and fierce pass rush. Ziola led Los Altos to a remarkable turnaround in his first season, taking the program from 0-10 in 2010 to 8-4 last season.

“One of the parents had mentioned that they’re (the West) going to be going no huddle and how we better get in shape,” Ziola said. “The way you stop the no huddle is to force incomplete passes. I think we have the defensive backs to stop routes, get in people’s faces and disrupt timing so much that we can afford to put our linebackers on their quarterbacks.

“Our plan is to keep their receivers where they’re supposed to be.”

It’s easy to see why Ziola is confident in his secondary. Charter Oak’s Herman Akins is a hybrid who can run with receivers or play near the line. Bonita’s Garrett Horine has East coaches thinking he might be the best player on the field. Rowland’s Terry Ford and West Covina’s Lonzel Barnett are so fast and quick that it’s hard to imagine anyone finding room on them.

And when the East has the ball, it will be using its run game to also play defense by eating the clock and keeping Guerrero and Rivera off the field.

“We expect to play very physical,” Ziola said. “They’re talking about speed on the West side, but I’ve seen the size of their defense on their roster and I’ve seen the size of the guys we have and the running backs we have, so we’re going to be a ground and pound football team. The boys we have on this side give us a big advantage to go out and do that.”

The East’s backfield is downright frightening. There’s speed and quickness in West Covina’s Jimmy Frazier and Azusa’s Desmond Reed. There’s a bruiser in Los Altos’ Justin Fa’aola. There’s a combo of speed and physicality in Glendora’s Corey Victoria and Bonita’s Cameron Griffin.

“All the running backs expect to have a good night,” Ziola said of his running backs. “There’s nobody out there expecting to relinquish what the East has done in the past. They’re all expecting to get their fair share of carries and do great things with it.”

If the West is to win, it may have to force a faster tempo than the East wants to play. And there’s no better way of doing just that than by getting Guerrero and Rivera off early and possibly a lead a on the scoreboard.

“They’re both great at passing the ball and using their feet,” Oliva said of his QB tandem “We kind of have a little mixture of run and pass stuff for them depending on what the East is doing defensively. It’s not a surprise, we’ll throw the ball. We definitely have got some guys who can play.”

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Boys Tennis All-Area: San Marino’s James Wade and coach Melwin Pereira take top honors

All-Area Tennis Story: San Marino’s James Wade maintained tradition of excellence at San Marino to earn player of the year honors

Star-News Boys Tennis All-Area photo gallery

Star-News All-Area Boys Tennis
Player of the year: James Wade, San Marino, Junior
Coach of the year: Melwin Pereira, San Marino
First team< Robert Carter, San Marino, Sophomore Danny Gealer, San Marino, Freshman Travis Tu, Arcadia, Senior Lester Yeh, Temple City, Senior Andy You, Arcadia, Senior Second team
Garrett Mak La Salle
Henry LaSoya, Pasadena Poly
Sachin Puri, Pasadena Poly
Matt Johnson, Pasadena Poly
Brendan Ma, Alhambra

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All-Area Softball: La Canada’s Lauren Cox and Monrovia’s Dave Guzman take top honors

All-Area Story: La Canada’s Lauren Cox leads her team to second title to earn player of the year honors while Monrovia’s Dave Guzman named coach of the year.

Star-News Softball All-Area Photo Gallery

2012 STAR-NEWS ALL-AREA SOFTBALL TEAM
Player of the Year: Lauren Cox, La Canada, Senior
Coach of the Year: Dave Guzman, Monrovia
FIRST TEAM
Pitcher: Michelle Floyd, San Marino, Junior
Pitcher: Adrienne Guerra, Monrovia, Sophomore
Catcher: Catherine Horner, La Canada, Senior
Infielder: Kelsey Drange, La Canada, Junior
Infielder: Annie Monroe, La Canada, Junior
Infielder: Alexis Watanabe, San Marino, Senior
Infielder: Vanessa Mendez, Keppel, Senior
Outfielder: Selina Mohr, La Canada, Junior
Outfielder: Elise McCarthy, Monrovia, Sophomore
Outfielder: Colleen McWilliams, La Salle, Senior
Utility: Alashanee Medina, Keppel, Senior
SECOND TEAM
Pitcher: Kaysie Gatlin, Duarte, Senior
Pitcher: Denise Gonzales, Alhambra, Senior
Catcher: Karah Kirby, Rio Hondo Prep, Senior
Infielder: Amy Zeronian, Marshall, Junior
Infielder: Anjelica Amezquita, Maranatha, Sophomore
Infielder: Mary Rose Magnolia, Duarte, Junior
Infielder: Nikki Guzman, Monrovia, Senior
Infielder: Jessica Parada, Mayfield, Junior
Outfielder: Sami Jakeway, Temple City, Senior
Outfielder: Kelly Jacobs, Flintridge Sacred Heart, Junior
Outfielder: Jessica Ogden, La Canada, Junior
Utility: Julia Tsai, Pasadena Poly, Senior

Continue reading “All-Area Softball: La Canada’s Lauren Cox and Monrovia’s Dave Guzman take top honors” »

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Star-News Did you Know: That 2006 Star-News Player of the Year LaVelle Peterson is now at New Mexico Highlands

Lavelle Peterson is still the best high school running back from my days in Pasadena. He graduated in 2006 at La Canada and was our player of the year. But I lost track of him after he walked onto to Utah where it apparently didn’t work out. But he has surfaced in Las Vegas and is playing college football for the University of New Mexico Highlands in Division II.

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