No need for Upland to get defensive
Nobody is surprised the Upland High School football team's offense has averaged 38 points per game during its 3-0 start. The coach of their last vistim, Serrano's Ray Maholchic joked that he might want to get some autographs before the game.
But four players in their huddle with a collective total of 40-plus Division-I scholarship offers isn't going to win the Highlanders a Baseline League title, let alone a CIF championship.
Not my words, Upland head coach Tim Salter's.
Prior to his 14th season at the helm, Salter readily acknowledged his truckload of offensive talent headlined by Tennessee-bound QB Josh Nunes, but he didn't want to dwell on it. He patiently waited for me to finish drooling over hsi future SEC and Pac-10 players before firmly stating that the team with the best defense traditionally wins the Baseline League.
While not as dazzling as the offense, Upland's defense has made its case (it doesn't hurt that Nunes is the lone D-I recruit who doesn't play both ways).
Upland held two-time defending CIF-SS Central Division champion Colony to 7 points Week 0. The Highlanders then gave up 21 to Glendora Week 1. That may not sound impressive but lets take a closer look. Three plays alone were responsible for 154 yards and all 21 points.
- A blown coverage on an 80-yard touchdown pass that split the Upland safties in the first quarter.
- Numerous missed tackles on a routine sweep to the short side of the field for a 29-yard TD run in the second quarter.
- A missed tackle combined with a safety blitzing through the wrong gap on a 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
In its 37-21 win over Serrano last week, the Upland defense allowed all of a 3-yard drive after a 40-yard interception return and gave up one TD drive in garbage time with a 37-15 lead. That leaves one legitimate scoring drive for a Serrano team that went 11-1 last year and scored 35 points in each of its first two games.
Although it has faced three defending league champs thus far, the Upland defense hasn't seen a top-notch passer yet. But, two of those D-I recruits - Osahon Irabor (16 scholarship offers, committed to Arizona State) and Taj Johnson (offer from Minnesota) play in the secondary and a third - RB/LB Davion Fleming (offer from Northwestern) - projects as a college safety.
Oct. 24 will signify the end to that when UCLA-bound QB Richard Brehaut and league rival Los Osos host Upland in a televised game.