Cerritos says goodbye

Far too soon.
That was the sentiment at Tuesday's "Celebration of Life" at Cerritos College for Carlos "Ponch" Ornelas and Eddie Valencia. Ornelas, 21, and Valencia, 20, were killed in a single-car accident Aug. 13, and the former Cerritos soccer players were honored in pre- and post-game ceremonies when the Falcons hosted L.A. Mission for their season opener.
"When I got the news, I couldn't believe it," said Miguel Pena Diaz, who coached Ornelas at Warren High and has known the family since Ornelas was 8. "He made a big impact on my life. I've been so destroyed lately ..."
Ornelas was a four-year varsity player at Warren and a two-time San Gabriel Valley League MVP. Last season, he returned to Warren and helped Diaz coach the team.
"He took over about 95 percent of the (coaching)," Diaz said.
In honor of Valencia, Cerritos goalie Danny Lizama will wear his boyhood friend's No. 8 for the rest of the season. The team's jerseys have the initials and number of both players on the sleeve this year.
In a cruel twist of fate, both young men died as they neared a new, exciting chapter of life. Ornelas and Valencia, along with fellow former Cerritos teammate Briant Reyes, were on their way to Kansas Wesleyan University when the crash occurred. All three had accepted athletic scholarships to the school and were just days away from beginning classes.
They were classic examples of what's right about community colleges, young student-athletes who put in the necessary work in the classroom and on the field to transfer to a four-year school.
"They were fulfilling their dreams," said Diaz.
Reyes survived the crash with only minor injuries, but is dealing with a very heavy heart. He's enrolled in classes at KWU and couldn't attend Tuesday's memorial, but Artiaga remembered him during his pre-game comments.
"Briant wasn't hurt seriously," he said, "but he has absolutely dreadful emotional scars."
More than once, Diaz referred to Ornelas in the present tense, and said the funeral was unbelievably difficult.
"It was very hard to close that casket," he said.
Eventually, the Falcons pulled away to win the game, 3-0, and a few smiles were seen among family members. The 12-year-old brothers of each player, Kevin Ornelas and Bryan Valencia, sat with the team during the game and playfully kicked a ball back and forth behind the bench in the second half. The healing process has begun, albeit slowly.
"We can't bring back Eddie and Carlos," Artiaga told the crowd of 1,207, "... but hopefully we can try to give a little piece of them to their famies."