Recently in Chaparral High School Category

I love this time of year, as the weather gets colder and the hitting gets harder. Which makes me sad that the CIF is thinking of moving the Linfield Christian-Big Bear game Saturday to Lucerne Valley because of snow. I understand the safety concerns Linfield might have of traveling up and down the mountain, but I fail to see how transitioning those concerns from Linfield to Big Bear, which has to travel up and down the mountain to get to Lucerne Valley, is productive in any way. Plus, I love football in the snow.

With that off my chest, on to the predictions starting with the Inland Division.

INLAND DIVISION
Yucaipa at No. 1 Corona Centennial
The forecast here is for pain for Yucaipa. I feel bad for the Thunderbirds, as Justin Price did a wonderful job leading Yucaipa to the playoffs in his first year as coach. But Centennial is playing on a level that's nationally elite right now and I have a hard time seeing Yucaipa holding them below 60 points.
Centennial 63, Yucaipa 13

Chaparral at Upland
The defending Inland champions take on last year's Central Division champions in what should be a good one. Chaparral's record looks weak at 4-6, but the Pumas finished second in a tough Southwestern League and played a ridiculous nonleague state. Upland is too smart to overlook Chaparral, but they'll be surprised by the intensity and physicality that the Pumas possess.
Chaparral 24, Upland 17

Etiwanda at Redlands East Valley
This is where I'll be tomorrow and quite frankly, I'm looking forward to it. it's a battle of strengths, as Etiwanda's explosive offense takes on REV's stifling defense. If REV can be attacked defensively, its in the secondary, which makes it imperative that the Wildcats get a pass rush on Eagle QB Larry Cutbirth. REV's offense doesn't get much pub, but it'll be good enough to win.
Redlands East Valley 27, Etiwanda 21

Corona at No. 4 Chino Hills
This is a potentially tricky first-round matchup for the Huskies, as Corona is talented and athletic. But Chino Hills has added an explosive offense to what was already a stout defense. The Huskies woke up in Sierra League play and are more than capable of playing in a shootout, but I think they'll slow Corona down enough to where that won't be necessary.
Chino Hills 35, Corona 20

Murrieta Valley at No. 3 Rancho Cucamonga
After six Central Division playoff wins during the last two years, the Cougars are moving into the Inland Division with a posh seed and a tough first-round matchup. However, the Rancho offense has been rounding into form during the Baseline League season and should be a little too potent for the Nighthawks.
Rancho Cucamonga 34, Murrieta Valley 30

Roosevelt 42, Claremont 24

Norco at Redlands
This should be a dandy, as these two teams faced each other in the 2006 semifinals. Norco is more versatile than usual, as they have the throwing ability of freshman QB Colt Gerhart (yes, there's another one) to go along with the explosiveness of Stanford-committed RB Kelsey Young. The Redlands defense is pretty stout and will battle, but I think Norco has a few too many weapons.
Norco 28, Redlands 17

No. 2 Vista Murrieta 45, Charter Oak 14

As you would expect, division champion Temecula Chaparral dominated the superlatives, with Antoine Arnold sharing the co-offensive player of the year honors with Vista Murrieta's Derrick Brown while Matt Lester and Darius Guillory shared defensive player of the year honors. Chaparral coach Tom Leach also won the coach of the year honor.

The only thing that kept me from having a perfect bracket was picking against Riverside Arlington. So all in all, not bad.

No. 1 Redlands East Valley at Temecula Chaparral
Can REV remove the Chaparral monkey from its back? That's the million-dollar question in this game, as otherwise the Wildcats would seem to be odds-on favorites to advance. But the Pumas have eliminated REV two of the last three years, something that will give them confidence to take out the top seed. However, I picked the Wildcats to persevere before and see no problems sticking with that.
Redlands East Valley 24, Chaparral 20

Corona Centennial 37, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde 28

Norco 40, Riverside Arlington 28

No. 2 Vista Murrieta at Redlands
The Terriers got their first postseason win in three years in impressive fashion, trouncing Moreno Valley Valley View. However, Vista Murrieta is a different animal altogether, as the Broncos have been extremely potent in starting 11-0. Redlands will fight and claw, but just like two weeks ago against REV, they'll be outgunned and need a perfect game to advance. I don't see it happening.
Vista Murrieta 27, Redlands 16

Next we'll head to the Inland Division, as I woke up nice and early to drive down to Santiago High School for the unveiling of the bracket. It's not smart to party in Santa Monica on a Saturday night when you have to be in Corona Sunday morning. Just letting you guys know in case you are tempted to do that in the future.

The bracket:

Riverside La Sierra (6-4) at No. 1 Redlands East Valley (10-0)
Corona Roosevelt (8-2) at Temecula Chaparral (7-3)
Miller (5-5) at Corona Centennial (8-2)
Temecula Great Oak (6-4) at No. 4 Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (10-0)
Carter (5-5) at No. 3 Norco (9-1)
Murrieta Valley (6-4) at Riverside Arlington (9-1)
Moreno Valley Valley View (5-5) at Redlands (8-2)
Corona Santiago (5-5) at No. 2 Vista Murrieta (10-0)

My initial impression was that for a No. 1 seed, Redlands East Valley wasn't done any favors. While La Sierra should be a routine win for the Wildcats, despite being the alma mater of former Sun sports writer Dennis Pope, REV very easily could collide with a Chaparral team that has eliminated the Wildcats two of the last three years, including a 20-0 drubbing a year ago. Of course, REV is better and the Pumas lost quite a bit from last year's team, but seeing the Chaparral uniform has to create some skittish moments for REV fans. Oh yeah, REV might get defending state champion Centennial in the semis as well.

I also feel bad for Miller and Carter, especially Carter. The Lions had a gutty 5-5 season this year, winning in Yucaipa Friday to grab the final seed for the CBL in the playoffs. So as a reward, Carter gets Norco - one of the baddest kids on the block. I see Carter getting a few touchdowns, but losing 55-20 or something like that because it wouldn't be able to stop Norco. As for Miller, it gets Corona Centennial in the first round. Yeah, that's going to hurt.

As for a sleeper, when you have a division where the top four seeds have a combined one loss and a No. 5 seed that is the two-time defending division champion and defending state champion, sleepers are hard to come by. If I had to pick one, it would be Arlington, and not because its the alma mater of assistant sports editor Brian Goff. The Lions are red-hot, as they've scored 48 or more points the last four games. If they play Norco in the second round, they might have the firepower to hang around for a while. However, Arlington's first-round game with Murrieta Valley is no cakewalk.

A couple of significant volleyball tournaments will take place this weekend as Redlands East Valley and Ayala host tournaments for teams looking to cram for playoff play in a couple of weeks.

The 2009 REV Volleyball Classic -- a one-day, 12-team tourney on Saturday -- will feature the Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the most recent CIF-SS Division II-AA polls. Along with Redlands East Valley, the field includes Sultana, Yucaipa and several teams from Riverside County, most notably Division 2-A No. 1 Wildomar Elsinore and 3-AA No. 3 Palm Springs. Action starts at 8 a.m. with three four-team pools - pool A (Elsinore, Riverside Poly, Sultana, Yucaipa), pool B (REV, Temecula Chaparral, Riverside King, Paloma Valley) and pool C (Palm Springs, Corona, Temescal Canyon, Norco).

The Bulldog Classic at Ayala will take place Friday and Saturday. Joining the host Bulldogs will be Rancho Cucamonga -- the No. 9 team in Division 1-A -- and San Andreas League leader Cajon.

Only a few hours before title games start, so here I go. I did OK last week, just missing Barstow-Silverado.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Upland at Rancho Cucamonga
Just to relieve Upland fans, Josh Nunes is starting at QB. There was a snafu in this morning's Daily Bulletin that ran the Cajon starting lineups instead of the Upland ones. For whatever reason, the correct Upland lineups were run in the Sun. Anyway, I could brag that I predicted this matchup, but the real bragging should go to the teams - Upland for shrugging off the Los Osos monkey and Rancho for continuing its undefeated march. I picked Rancho to win it all and I'm not turning back now.
Rancho Cucamonga 27, Upland 17

EASTERN DIVISION
Perris Citrus Hill at Barstow
Definitely an odd matchup. At one spectrum you have the Hawks, a No. 1 seed that killed everyone in its path before toughing out an 18-15 win over Serrano last week. Barstow, meanwhile, has bucked the odds all year to get to its first CIF title since 2000. Can the double-wing Aztecs pull the shocker? It should be fun in Barstow, but I got Citrus Hill in this one.
Citrus Hill 38, Barstow 26

EAST VALLEY DIVISION
Twentynine Palms at San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret's
I should save internet space and not write San Juan Capistrano again, but I did. In talking to their coach, Harry Welch, a few nights back, he was raving about the raw ability and size of the Wildcats, which he should. Twentynine Palms has some serious ballers. But I'm going to stick with the undefeated team here, even if its playing possum a bit.
St. Margaret's 31, Twentynine Palms 23

INLAND DIVISION
Temecula Chaparral vs. Corona Centennial
The Pumas were blasted by Centennial in the semis last year. They were also blasted by Norco in the title game two years ago. Chaparral got revenge on the Cougars last week and are looking to do the same against Centennial this week. But they won't. Centennial rolls to another title.
Centennial 38, Chaparral 10

SOUTHEAST DIVISION
Covina Charter Oak at Diamond Ranch
I met Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton for the first time Monday. I was expecting him to look like what the Scots expected William Wallace to look like - seven feet tall with an ability to fire lightning bolts from any place on his body. He wasn't quite that, but him and the Panthers deserve a lot of credit for getting to this point after a 1-6 start. That start involved a loss to Charter Oak, which will have Diamond Ranch's number again.
Charter Oak 24, Diamond Ranch 13.

Fun times in the high school ranks, even with some of my picks last week taking a beating. I went 10-6 this week, sweeping the Inland Division and splitting the other three. Oh well.

CENTRAL DIVISION

No. 1 Rancho Cucamonga at No. 4 Cajon
This should be a good one and after going to each campus this week to talk to coaches and players about it, I'm excited. I won't be covering, but Clay Fowler will have a jolly old time at this one. You have two big-play spread teams, with Greg Watson and his cadre of explosive wideouts carrying the torch for Rancho and RB Walter Kazee doing the same for Cajon. I picked Rancho to win the Central title before the playoffs started, and I have to stick with it. We'll see if Cajon burns me again.
Rancho Cucamonga 33, Cajon 28

No. 2 Los Osos at Upland
Now I will be at this game, which should also be a doozy. I guess its redundant to say that a CIF semifinal game should be good, but I really don't care. What I'm looking to see is if Josh Nunes can break the Richard Brehaut jinx. Yes, I know there are plenty of other players (Arby Fields, Davion Fleming, Osahon Irabor to name three) worth mentioning, but Nunes has never beaten Brehaut. Shoot, even the two schools he verbally committed to (Tennessee and then Stanford) lost to Brehaut's school, UCLA. Upland is hoping that Nunes is due. I'm thinking he is.
Upland 34, Los Osos 27

EASTERN DIVISION

Serrano at No. 1 Perris Citrus Hill
This is where I'll be tomorrow night and quite frankly, the more I read up on Citrus Hill, the more I'm blown away. The Hawks have won all of their games by more than 26 points, average over 50 points a game and have a Division I QB in Caleb Herring and a future D-1 RB in junior Deontae Cooper. Serrano won't be intimidated, having played at Upland and Hesperia this season, but the Diamondbacks will have their hands full. Gotta go with the Hawks, though Serrano will keep it close (relatively speaking).
Citrus Hill 41, Serrano 23

Barstow at Silverado
At the very least, the Desert Sky League will get some major street cred. With two teams facing off, the DSL will get one team in the title game, definitely helping it shed the rep of being the "other" High Desert league. As for the game, its a pretty fascinating contrast in styles, with Barstow's double-wing going against Silverado's frenetic no-huddle spread offense. The Aztecs will need to chew clock to keep red-hot Hawk QB Jemeryn Jenkins off the field. They'll have their moments, but Silverado seems to be on a mission.
Silverado 36, Barstow 20

EAST VALLEY DIVISION

No. 1 St. Margaret's 38, Pasadena Maranatha 27

Fillmore at Twentynine Palms
Both of these teams are surprises of sorts. For the host Wildcats, the surprise isn't that they are here, but the way they destroyed Aquinas to get here. Twentynine Palms had defeated the Falcons during the regular season, so a win wasn't shocking, but a 40-0 whitewashing certainly was. The Flashes were more of the conventional surprise, upsetting No. 2-seeded Brentwood to get here. I think the Wildcats, who have scored 103 points in the playoffs so far, continue to roll.
Twentynine Palms 42, Fillmore 17

INLAND DIVISION

No. 1 Corona Centennial 42, Murrieta Valley 13

No. 3 Temecula Chaparral at Norco
These two teams last faced off in the 2006 Inland finals, with Norco placing a 43-0 beating on the Pumas. Chaparral, making its third straight semifinal appearance, its pretty rough on defense, as they beat Redlands East Valley up front in a 20-0 shutout. Norco has made its living on physical play, so this should be a good one, but I feel Chaparral is due.
Chaparral 21, Norco 10

Last week: 10-6. Overall record: 242-60-4.

Doing this a little early, as I'm off doing the holiday thing for the next two days. Not a bad week last week, though its fair to say that I screwed up games involving public schools in the Redlands Metropolitan Area.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Paloma Valley at No. 1 Rancho Cucamonga
So my upset special wasn't special. Actually, my real upset special was Glendora, but it's all good. Paloma Valley did well, but they'll have their hands full with Rancho, which received quite a scare last week for Colton. Look for Greg Watson and the Rancho passing attack to carry their big fourth quarter over.
Rancho Cucamonga 33, Paloma Valley 20

No. 4 Cajon at Ayala
I was at the Cajon-Etiwanda game last week and it was a hum-dinger, as both teams played their hearts out. The win was big for the Cowboys' psyche, just because they don't have to hear the 'Well, you are just a product of the SAL' talk as much. What they will have to deal with is a darn good Ayala team that can come at you in waves. I picked Ayala before the playoffs and am sticking with that.
Ayala 30, Cajon 27

Glendora at Upland
The jaw-dropping score of the week definitely came from Glendora, which destroyed No. 3 Hemet West Valley. I'll pat my back because I predicted an upset, but I didn't expect the beatdown that took place. Upland beat down Chaffey, which was expected, and plays the Tartans for the third time since last November. Each team has one, and I'm predicting Upland to win the rubber match.
Upland 34, Glendora 28

No. 2 Los Osos at Chino Hills
Richard Brehaut used his legs more than his arm to lead the Grizzlies to victory last week. That's nice, but that ain't going to fly against Chino Hills. The Huskies bulldozed San Gorgonio 52-14 thanks to a monster day from RB A.J. Johnson. Chino Hills keeps plugging along to little fan fare (despite Fowler's exemplary article) and will do so again, "upsetting" Los Osos.
Chino Hills 27, Los Osos 21

EASTERN DIVISION

No. 1 Perris Citrus Hill 36, Palm Desert 25

Serrano at Banning
I'm not going to lie, Banning's win over Kaiser shocked me. I did not see that coming. I guess i should get to know more about Banning, but I don't think they are going to knock off another Eastern power. Serrano trounced La Quinta behind junior RB Dionza Bradford and could very well be the dark horse in this bracket. The Banning story is a good one, but one that will end.
Serrano 28, Banning 14

No. 3 Palm Springs at Barstow
The Aztecs are another one of those teams that doesn't get hype but wins. They can throw three RBs at you in the double-wing and have some massive hombres blocking. But Palm Springs is red-hot and this is pretty much what they do. After whipping Summit, Palm Springs will have its way with Barstow late.
Palm Springs 23, Barstow 16

No. 2 Hesperia at Silverado
Don't look now but the Hawks, who started 0-6, are amazingly still alive and quite a threat behind QB Jemeryn Jenkins. Jenkins is a ridiculous talent, slicing and dicing Patriot for 406 yards last week. However, Hesperia put on a clinic against Notre Dame, barely breaking a sweat in winning 55-27. The rested Scorpions have a little too much sting.
Hesperia 31, Silverado 19

EAST VALLEY DIVISION

No. 1 St. Margaret's at Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley has been an awesome story, recovering from several tattered years to win a De Anza League co-championship and a playoff game. It's a great job Tim Connavo is doing out there. However, this isn't going to be pretty. St. Margaret's hasn't been challenged all year and Yucca, for all their strengths, don't have the ability to.
St. Margaret's 41, Yucca Valley 16

Pasadena Maranatha at Big Bear
The Bears made me look smart, which is hard to do, coming up with the brassy 33-32 upset over No. 4 Santa Paula. It's been a tough year at Big Bear, but you know the Bears will growl at playoff time. I'll be up the hill to watch them take on Maranatha, which is just annoying to type. So I'll predict. I am tempted to take the Bears, but I picked the other team (see what I did there?) last week. Can't change now.
Maranatha 24, Big Bear 20

No. 3 Aquinas at Twentynine Palms
I kind of wish I was at this game Friday, because this one is going to be a war. Aquinas has been rolling over fools this year behind QB Tyler Stirewalt and his merry band of skill-position playmakers, but the Falcons' only loss came to Twentynine Palms - a team that put 63 up on Brethren Christian last week. I expect the Palms to be jumping, but Aquinas to exact revenge.
Aquinas 28, Twentynine Palms 26

No. 2 Brentwood 27, Fillmore 13

INLAND DIVISION

No. 1 Corona Centennial 42, Vista Murrieta 10

No. 4 Miller at Murrieta Valley
The Rebels looked awesome on offense in their 48-21 victory over Roosevelt, gaining well over 500 yards and looking like the juggernaut unit it was last year under A.J. Springer. yeah, Juan Flores and David Dash next year could be mad scary. However, the defense has showed some signs of slippage lately, which won't be helped by Murrieta Valley. I have the Rebels losing a heartbreaker on the road, similar to their loss to Chaparral last year.
Murrieta Valley 28, Miller 23

Redlands East Valley at No. 3 Temecula Chaparral
After impaling the Santiago Sharks, REV looks to take out a Chaparral team that's been hell on the CBL in recent years. The Pumas took out REV two years ago and Miller this year, meaning they have run up quite a tab. The REV offense has erupted lately, but I don't see them evening the bill this week. I will be at the game though to see if I'm wrong and to see if Lindsay Soto is there. I can always hope.
Chaparral 23, Redlands East Valley 19

Norco 27, Riverside North 17

Last week: 26-6. Overall: 232-54-4.