Recently in Derrick Malone Category

Colton football player Derrick Malone just won the Ken Hubbs Athlete of the Year award, becoming the fourth Yellowjacket to do so. The story is below.

The school winners for the annual Ken Hubbs Award, named after the late Colton graduate and 1962 Rookie of the Year for the Chicago Cubs, will be honored tonight at the 66ers' game with the Quakes today at Arrowhead Credit Union Park.

They are listed below. The overall winner will be announced Monday at the Ken Hubbs Banquet at the Elks Club in San Bernardino.

Alex Saunders - soccer and cross country - Aquinas
William Quanstrom - volleyball and basketball - Arrowhead Christian
Damon Ogburn - football and track & field - Arroyo Valley
Jake Murie - cross country and track - Big Bear
Richard Marquez - soccer and football - Bloomington
Tanner Clark - baseball and wrestling - Cajon
Ryan Coleman - football - Carter
Derrick Malone - football and track & field - Colton
Alex Varner - basketball - Eisenhower
Hugo Cardoza - soccer and water polo - Fontana
Joshua Shirley - football and wrestling - Kaiser
Trevor Pascoe - football - Miller
Canon John Castro - water polo, wrestling, soccer, swimming, golf - Pacific
Joe Barich - water polo, volleyball and soccer - Redlands
Andrew Hudson - football, wrestling and track & field - Redlands East Valley
Giordan Porter - wrestling and football - Rialto
Dustin Fay - cross country and track & field - Rim of the World
Devonte Chattman - basketball - San Bernardino
Greg Valdivia - cross country and track & field - San Gorgonio
Corey Jennings - soccer and cross country - Summit
Wyatt Padgett - baseball and football - Yucaipa

Would have done this by yesterday, but a nasty cold threw me for a loss. I'm ready to go again though. With that, here's a complete breakdown of local Division I FBS (I-A) and FCS (I-AA) signees.

By school
1. Redlands 4; 2 tie. Colony 3, Colton 3, Los Osos 3, Rancho Cucamonga 3, Redlands East Valley 3; 7 tie. Arroyo Valley 2, Don Lugo 2, Hesperia 2, Kaiser 2, Serrano 2, Upland 2; 13 tie. Aquinas 1, Cajon 1, Chaffey 1, Granite Hills 1, Miller 1, Sultana 1.

Redlands was the surprising winner in this category, as three Terriers - OL Justin Corrales (Bryant University), LB Cole Gridley (Valparaiso) and K/P Shaun McClain (Weber State) were able to parlay strong senior seasons into FCS scholarships. LB Jordan Thomas (San Diego State) was the only FBS scholarship to Redlands, but the Terriers get props for getting their successful kids scholarships.

The teams with three scholarship players are among the usual suspects when it comes to getting kids to Division I scholarships, as REV, Colton, Colony, Rancho Cucamonga and Los Osos have seen an army of players get to the next level recently. REV, Colton and Los Osos all sent their players to FBS school, with each having at least one kid sign with a Pac-10 school. Rancho also had a Pac-10 kid in TE Randall Telfer (USC), while Colony had a Big 12 kid in DB Jered Bell (Colorado).

No real shocks in the 2 and 1 scholarship crowd except maybe Serrano, which had two FBS kids. The Diamondbacks are known for doing more with less, so its no shock that they made a CIF final with two FBS seniors on the roster.

By college:
1. San Diego State 4. 2 tie. Fresno State 3, Oregon 3, USC 3; 5 tie. Montana State 2, Sacramento State 2, San Jose State 2, UNLV 2, Utah 2, UTEP 2; 11 tie. Army 1, Bryant 1, Colorado 1, Iowa State 1, Kansas State 1, Nevada 1, Portland State 1, Prairie View A&M 1, San Diego 1, UCLA 1, Valparaiso 1, Washington 1, Washington State 1, Weber State 1.

On the non-BCS level, San Diego State and Fresno State continue to do work in the county. When Aztecs coach Brady Hoke was hired last year, he told recruits that he was going to put an emphasis on Inland Empire athletes. He's done exactly that, signing 3 SAL kids last year and four county kids this year in Thomas, Serrano DE Everett Beed, Hesperia WR Jay Waddell and Granite Hills TE Bryce Quigley. A fifth, Serrano RB Dionza Bradford, verbally committed to San Diego State before backing out and going with UNLV. So Hoke is getting things done.

Pat Hill has consistently brought local talent into the fold and this year is no different, with Los Osos WR Sean Alston, Arroyo Valley LB Ofa Fifita and Rancho Cucamonga QB Greg Watson all inking with the Bulldogs. Montana State also was a big player in the FCS ranks, getting guys with FBS interest in Don Lugo DB Steve Bethley and Miller RB David Dash.

As far as the Pac-10 goes, 2010 saw a reversal from 2009. Last year, it was UCLA and Oregon State that cleaned up, while this year saw their rivals have success. The Trojans, despite a coaching change, got Kaiser RB/DB Anthony Brown, Telfer and the county's highest-ranked recruit, Don Lugo DT George Uko, to sign. Only an 11th-hour stunner by Kaiser LB Josh Shirley kept UCLA from being swept out of the county.

As for the Oregon schools, the Ducks got two extremely productive defensive players in Los Osos DE Tony Washington and Colton DB Derrick Malone and stole Colton K Alejandro Maldonado from Washington on the last weekend. Last year, it was Oregon State that did damage, with Freshman All-American OL Michael Philipp from Arroyo Valley being the crown jewel.

As far as out-of-region teams, I guess the big winner would be the Big 12 North. Colorado (Colony DB Jered Bell), Iowa State (Hesperia/Chaffey College TE Ricky Howard) and Kansas State (Sultana/Mt. SAC OL Manase Foketi) all signed area players while Nebraska courted several local players as well.

Prior to making the death march down the 10 to LA, I was at Colton, where Colton High School put on an assembly honoring DB Derrick Malone (Oregon), K Alejandro Maldonado (Oregon), DB Jonathan Mack (UNLV), DE Michael Newton (Arizona Western Junior College) and LB Ma'alona Kiliona (University of Redlands), along with softball players April Vasquez and Jessica Lemus.

Several hundred students showed up to honor the athletes, who added to Colton's rich tradition of sending players to college.

"It's something we take a lot of pride in," Colton athletic director Harold Strauss said. "When these kids come into this program, I tell them that if they give me their all in the classroom and on the field, we'll give them our all in getting their college paid for."

Both Malone and Maldonado will be Ducks, with Malone deciding for Oregon in November and Maldonado deciding over the weekend, switching his commitment from Washington.

"It was hard to tell Washington no, but I had to go with what was in my heart," Maldonado said. "When I visited Oregon, I knew that was where I had to be. Washington was nice, but Oregon was perfect."

Malone chose the Ducks over several colleges, including most of the Pac-10 and Nebraska. While he made his decision well before Maldonado made his and was pumped about Oregon already, having his teammate with him made it that much sweeter.

"It's awesome," Malone said. "I've been going to school with (Maldonado) since middle school. Middle school, then high school, and now college together. It's going to be fun and I can't wait."

Mack might have been the happiest of the Division I signees. As of Monday, Mack was unsure if he would sign today, but he secured his ride with the Rebels Tuesday night and was all smiles when he signed his letter of intent today.

"My mom was really nervous, but I had faith that it was all going to work out," Mack said. "I'm really happy right now and it's a big relief."

Colton kicker Alejandro Maldonado, verbally committed to Washington since the summer, decommitted Sunday to Oregon after officially visiting the campus according to Colton athletic director Harold Strauss. The Seattle Times also wrote a story about it, which can be read here.

"He cancelled a trip three weeks ago and was just going to stay with Washington, but we told him that you need to see (Oregon) and make a decision from that," Strauss said. "He went up for a visit this weekend, loved it, and now he's going to Oregon."

Maldonado will be joining teammate Derrick Malone, a safety who committed to the Ducks in November, in Eugene. They'll be signing their letters of intent in Colton's auditorium during second period Wednesday at roughly 8:30 a.m., hopefully joined by cornerback Jonathan Mack.

Mack, who has been offered by Nebraska, Iowa State, UNLV and Utah State, is in limbo right now, as schools who have previously offered may have filled their available slots in Strauss' opinion.

"He went up for an official visit with Derrick to Nebraska in October and everything seemed good, but we haven't heard from (Nebraska coach Bo) Pelini in a while," Strauss said. "We told Jonathan that sometimes its better to reserve a spot because things fill up, but he wanted to concentrate on the season. Things are happening for him all at once right now and hopefully it will work out."

Speaking of Malone, the senior safety made a verbal committment to the Ducks over the weekend according to Rivals.com, just over a month after Oregon offered the 6-foot-3, 195-pound 3-star safety.

Malone, who was considering Nebraska, Washington, Arizona State and Arizona, made his commitment after taking an official visit to Eugene for Oregon's rivalry game for Oregon State last Thursday.

Also, Serrano running back Dionza Bradford and defensive end Everett Beed informed me at the CIF-SS football luncheon that they will be taking official visits to San Diego State next weekend. Both Diamondbacks were committed to UNLV, but decommitted when the school fired head coach Mike Sanford in November.

The annual Inland Empire all-star football grudge match is quick approaching, as the 25th Annual Inland Empire Football Classic - pitting a San Bernardino County all-star team against a Riverside County all-star team -- will take place Saturday, Jan. 9 at Corona High School.

Riverside County has won the last two meetings of this classic, including a 38-7 victory at Los Osos High School last January. Redlands East Valley coach Kurt Bruich will coach the San Bernardino team while Riverside Norte Vista coach Ken Batdorf will be in charge of the Riverside group.

Notable players preliminary slated to play for the San Bernardino team in the game are Kaiser running back/defensive back Anthony Brown (USC), Don Lugo defensive tackle George Uko -- a top 100 prospect according to Rivals.com -- Rancho Cucamonga tight end Randal Telfer (USC), REV quarterback Tyler Shreve (Colorado State), Etiwanda wide receiver Bobby Ratliff (Washington State) and Colton defensive back Derrick Malone (Oregon).

I didn't have much time after the Colton-Cajon game Thursday, but I did get a little tidbit about Colton defensive back Derrick Malone's recruitment from Yellowjackets coach Harold Strauss.

Malone, who was the star of Colton's 38-9 victory with 249 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including 80-yarders on Colton's first play of both halves, is heading to the University of Nebraska this weekend on an official visit with the Cornhuskers. It will be his first official visit and should be a good one, as Nebraska hosts rival Oklahoma.

As for his other visits, those are up in the air according to Strauss. A couple of teams high on Malone's list - UCLA and Oregon - have picked up contact and are on the verge of offering in Strauss' opinion. Another Pac-10 team, Arizona, has also been talking with Malone a lot lately and could offer.

"He's going to wait to see if some of these other schools offer and go from there," Strauss said. "I know he's been wanting to hear from some more Pac-10 schools so he'll wait to see what they do and go from there."

First of all, I apologize for the extended break between posts. Between vacations and the general slow nature of the summer, I haven't been on here in a while. But with football season coming up, I plan to make up for that a bit with some team previews.

I'll first start off with Colton because, quite frankly, Harold Strauss was the first coach I was able to get in contact with today. Strauss, as you guys probably know by now, will be coaching his final season with the Yellowjackets, as he has been named to replace David Drake as Colton's athletic director.

There is a lot going on in the world of football recruiting, as the May evaluation period is underway. According to Rivals.com, Colton kicker Alejandro Maldonado has verbally committed to Washington while teammates Derrick Malone and Jonathan Mack are receiving intersst from schools such as Nebraska.

Maldonado verbally committed to the Huskies after they saw him practice Wednesday, which he accepted. This is what Maldonado told Rivals:

"I accepted it right away," he said. "It feels really good. It was my first one. I told my mom and dad about it, and everybody is really excited. I would say I'm a soft commitment, but I was told that I could come in there right and be their starting kicker right away."

Malone, a safety, is up to five scholarship offers (Arizona State, Nebraska, Nevada, UTEP and Washington) while Mack, a cornerback, has an offer from the Cornhuskers.