BACK FOR MORE: Pasadena City College quarterback Justin
Posthuma is healthy again after suffering a knee injury in the second
game last season.
(Leo Jarzomb / Staff Photographer)

Here’s the Pasadena City College football season preview. I will post PCC news this season.

By Keith Lair, SGVN
twitter.com/KeithLLair
In some ways, the 2012 Pasadena City College football season already is unusual.
For the first time in several years, the roster is made up primarily of Valley and Los Angeles area players. There are only 17 non-Southern Californians on the team. Two of them are from foreign countries (Australia and Russia).
“It’s called community college,” second-year coach Fred Fimbres said. “We absolutely want to be playing games where we represent our immediate communities.
“We were not actively recruiting out-of-state guys. They recruited us.”

Continue reading “PCC Preview: Freshman-heavy Lancers will have to make quick adjustments” »

By Steve Ramirez, SGVN
twitter.com/srammy8

It wouldn’t be the start of the college football season without the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club, which will begin its 68th season next week.
The group, which supports area high school and college football teams with donations and dues, holds weekly luncheons every Friday from September to November.
Next week’s meeting will pay homage to Santa Anita Park, which is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup in November. Mike Willman, the racetrack’s director of publicity, will be the keynote speaker along with Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye.
Other speakers scheduled for this season include Rose Bowl general manager Darryl Dunn, Occidental football coach Bill Redell and Pasadena City College coach Fred Fimbres. The group will honor the Pacific League and Rio Hondo League football coaches on back-to-back weeks Sept. 21 and Sept. 28. An area high school coach also will speak each week.
Coaches scheduled to speak this season are Maranatha’s Pete Karavedas (Sept. 7), Pasadena Poly’s Brendan McGrail (Sept. 14), Rosemead’s Marc Paramo (Oct. 5), Alhambra’s Joe Kanach (Oct. 12), St. Francis’ Jim Bonds (Oct. 19), Rio Hondo Prep’s Ken Drain (Oct.26), La Salle’s Russell Gordon (Nov. 3) and Flintridge Prep’s Antonio Harrison (Nov.9).
A UCLA official will speak on Oct. 19, with Todd Hewitt, USC’s director of equipment operations, speaking on Nov.2.
The Pasadena Quarterbacks Club also is in the middle of its 2012 membership drive. Memberships range from basic, which gives individuals a $7 discount off the $30 luncheon price; season pass and Gold Club. Corporate memberships are also available.
More information can be found at the organization’s website at http://www.pasadenaquarterbacks.org.
Membership in the organization is not required to attend the luncheons, which charge $30 for non-member guests.

STAR-NEWS QUEENS: Senior Katrina Palffy, junior Caroline Knop and sophomore Haley DeSales are key players for La Salle High School s volleyball team.
(Sarah Reingewirtz / Staff Photographer)

STAR-NEWS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TOP 10
1. La Salle
2. La Canada
3. Arcadia
4. Flintridge Sacred Heart
5. Alverno
6. South Pasadena
7. Gabrielino
8. Mayfield
9. Maranatha
10. Poly

By Keith Lair, SGVN
twitter.com/KeithLLair

It is not a matter of restocking.
With the high school girls volleyball season getting under way this week, it is a matter of reloading.
Two San Gabriel Valley teams went to CIF-Southern Section championship matches last season. Another went to the semifinals and another to the quarterfinals. La Salle and Pasadena Poly qualified for CIF State tournament berths.
The playoff runs could be just as impressive this season, with most teams returning top players.
1. La Salle
The Lancers certainly reloaded. The CIF-SS finalists lost only two seniors. But extremely talented returnees and three transfers have the Lancers apparently ready to make the next big step.
“We just have to keep going,” coach Tiare Tuitama said. “We have a lot of goals and there is a lot of pressure on our shoulders.”
The Lancers return one of the nation’s best hitters in sophomore Haley DeSales. Junior libero Caroline Knop, who recently committed to Michigan State, is also back. Senior outside hitters Katrina Palffy and Reilly Spriestersbach also return, the latter expected to play the middle.
“CK is just a natural leader,” Tuitama said of Knop. “Everybody looks up to her. And getting a volleyball scholarship to the school she always wanted to go to shows how hard she has worked.”
Continue reading “Girls Volleyball: La Salle, La Canada top list of many area teams primed for big CIF-SS runs in 2012” »

TOP BULLDOG: Ayala High School running back/defensive back Jordan Robinson is looking forward to having a big senior season. The Bulldogs host two-time defending CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division champion Monrovia on Friday night.
(Leo Jarzomb / Staff Photographer)

Here’s a story on Ayala running back Jordan Robinson, who takes on Monrovia on Friday.

By Aram Tolegian, SGVN
twitter.com/ChemicalAT

Jordan Robinson is flying under the radar … for now.
The Ayala High School running back/defensive back is well known to coaches in the Sierra League as one of the most dangerous players their teams will face this season.
But outside of that coaching circle, not many other coaches or fans have heard his name as often as they should. That could start changing in a big way on Friday when Robinson and the Bulldogs host two-time defending CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley Division champion Monrovia. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
“We’ve been watching film all week,” Robinson said of Monrovia. “They have athletes, but they’re not unbeatable. I want to just go out there and show our team can compete with these guys.
“They’re ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in your poll and if we go out there and beat them then we’re definitely making a statement that we can compete.”
Even with Monrovia coming to town, the spotlight will also be shining on the Bulldogs, who have gotten plenty of hype this offseason and are ranked No. 8 in the Tribune’s latest area rankings. Monrovia is the No. 1 team in the Pasadena Star-News rankings.
For Monrovia, the expectations are nothing new. But for Ayala, so many expecting such big things is a change from the norm.
“I think it’s right,” Robinson said of the rankings. “We have a nice team. We have athletes. We just didn’t put it together as well as we should have last year. This year, we’re a year older and we’ve been through it. I’m pretty sure we can turn it around.”
Continue reading “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood: Ayala running back ready to take on Monrovia” »