DON'T THINK. IT CAN ONLY HURT THE BALLCLUB

After visiting the school over the weekend, Ayala High School wide receiver Obum Gwacham was offered a scholarship to Oregon State on Tuesday and immediately committed to the Beavers.

Gwacham had just 13 receptions for 262 yards and two touchdowns this season, but Oregon State was undoubtedly attracted to the freakish athletic ability of the 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior. Gwacham, the son of Nigerian parents who moved to the states when he was 7-years old, was the state's fifth-best high jumper last year, topping out at 6-foot-10 in his second consecutive trip to the state meet.

Gwacham also had offers from Idaho State, Sacramento State and Montana State. Prior to this season USC and Oregon coaches, among others, visited Ayala to express interest in Gwacham but communication dwindled during the season with not only those two schools, but Boise State and UNLV too.

Oregon State assistant coach Joe Seumalo, who told Gwacham the Beavers had an offer for him while he was in Corvallis, Ore., over the weekend, made the offer official on Tuesday. It was a relief for the soft-spoken Gwacham, who thought his pedestrian statistics scared off recruiters.

"I'm sure they did," he said. "But Oregon State stuck by me. They knew about my athletic ability. They knew I could make the big play. Coach Seumalo saw something special in me."

Gwacham missed his entire junior season with an injury, giving him just 13 receptions in his varsity career, but Ayala head coach Tom Inglima believes his raw talent could carry him a long way.

"We could be looking at an NFL player here," Inglima said. "He has been under the radar but he's really a special athlete."

Gwacham's 13 receptions may be deceiving in that Ayala only completed 62 passes all season in a ground-oriented wing-T offense. A perfect indication of the drop off in Ayala's pass offense is New Mexico State-bound receiver David Quiroga, who was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2007 but only compiled 470 yards on 36 catches in 2008.

Nevertheless, Gwacham is headed to the Pac-10 next season.

"I've been so happy this whole day," Gwacham said. "I can't wait to get up there. I think it's a great program that still has a lot of young guys. A year or two from now, it could be even better."

Posted by Clay Fowler at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Etiwanda High School defensive end Ibe Nduka was offered a scholarship by Fresno State on Monday and accepted on the spot, according to Etiwanda coach Steve Bryce.

Nduka's teammate, running back Vince Minor, committed to the University of New Mexico on Thursday, a week after he received the scholarship offer

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Nduka took a trip to San Diego State last weekend but was not offered by the Aztecs. The first-team All-Inland Valley selection was scheduled to visit Fresno State this coming weekend. Nduka collected 12.5 sacks and 102 tackles this season on his way to earning Baseline League co-MVP honors.

Minor, who had 1,473 combined rushing and receiving yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior, had an offer from San Diego State before Aztecs' coach Chuck Long was fired in late November. Toby Neinas, the same assistant coach that rectuited Minor at SDSU, was hired at New Mexico.

"(Minor) was worried because San Diego State was his only offer," Bryce said. "But he had such a great rapport with his the coach, Nienas."

Minor, who will play running back at New Mecixo, was an all-Baseline League cornerback as a junior before the coaching staff restricted his playing time on defense as a senior.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ayala WR/DB David Quiroga verbally committed to New Mexico State during his visit to the school this weekend, according to his father John.

On Jan. 5, Quiroga committed to new head coach DeWayne Walker pending his visit to Las Cruces, N.M. Apparently the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior liked what he saw.

Walker, the former UCLA defensive coordinator hired by the Aggies on Dec. 31, is pushing for Quiroga to play on the defensive side of the ball, according to John Quiroga, despite David catching 72 passes for 1,096 yards and 10 TDs his junior season. With quarterback Matt Baca gone to Northern Colorado this season, Quiroga's totals dwindled to 36 receptions for 470 yards and five TDs but his position with the Aggies is yet to be determined. Quiroga was also the Bulldogs second leading rusher this season with 667 yards and nine TDs.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It wasn't planned - a slate of this magnitude is practically something you can't make up - but the Etiwanda boys basketball team's nonleague schedule ended up reading something like a state tournament bracket.

Weschester, Compton Dominguez, Taft - these are the No. 2, No. 5 and No. 7 teams in the STATE, according to Calhisports.com. Etiwanda (No. 8 in Calhisports state rankings) has faced all of them.

The three teams represent each of the Eagles' three losses through 15 games this seaon. But the three losses came by a combined total of nine points.

"Westchester, well they just beat us," Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner said before the Eagles' 41-point blowout of Rancho Cucamonga Thursday night. "But the other two, we were right in those games, just couldn't finish them."

Here are the scores from each game:

Dec 11. - Westchester 50, Etiwanda 45
Dec. 30 - Taft 63, Etiwanda 61
Jan. 3 - Dominguez 58, Etiwanda 56

Taft is the defending CIF-City Section champ, Dominguez the defending CIF-SS champ (in the largest division) and Westchester has the best record and highest ranking of the three.

Etiwanda, the CIF-SS Division I-A runner up last season, may be better than it was last season. Based on what I saw from the Eagles Thursday night, it would be hard to state otherwise. In my first viewing of the 2009 Etiwanda squad, the Eagles laid a 102-61 beatdown on Rancho Cucamonga.

Rancho, ranked 14th in Division I-A, is hardly a weak opponent. The Cougars were the only team to deal Etiwanda a regular season loss last year. An overtime loss to Riverside King in the CIF title game and a defeat at the hands of Fairfax in the second round of the state tournament were the only other blemishes on Etiwanda's record last season.

We probably can't expect 41-point margins of victory during Baseline League play, but I'm not sure how much Etiwanda will be challenged by the likes of Los Osos, Upland and Alta Loma, which lost its league opener to Etiwanda 52-40 on Jan. 9. I'm sure there will be a close game or two, considering the talent in the Baseline League.

"At times this team has shown signs of greatness," said Kleckner. "But we've had times where we've struggled. It depends on what team shows up."

Posted by Clay Fowler at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The CIF-SS Central Division champion Rancho Cucamonga football team is looking for a sponsor for it's Feb. 27 banquet.

Interested parties please e-mail Sherry Berwick at Sherry1271@aol.com

Posted by Clay Fowler at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ayala High School WR/DB David Quiroga has not officially issued a verbal commitment to New Mexico State, as reported by rivals.com.

During a phone conversation on Monday, Quiroga committed to New Mexico State's new head coach, former UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, pending his visit to Las Cruces, N.M., according to John Quiroga, David's father. His visit is tentativily scheduled for Jan. 16.

Walker, who was hired away from UCLA on Dec. 31, is undeceided on what side of the ball the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Quiroga will play, if he attends New Mexico State.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry for the delay...

Offensive MVP - Ronald Douglas, RB, Jr., Chaffey
Offensive MVP - Herman Huezo, QB, Sr., Ontario
Defensive MVP - Deveion Bauman, S, Sr., Chaffey

FIRST TEAM
Jacob Ahmad, Jr., Chaffey
Robert Cook, Sr., Chaffey
Mike Martinez, Jr., Chaffey
Jesus Cortez, So., Chaffey
Alejandro Alamillo, So., Chaffey
Anthony Gamez, Sr., Chaffey
Matt Hooyenga, Sr., Chaffey
Jacob Klinefelter, Jr., Chaffey
Desmond Newton, LB, Sr., Ontario
Ray Lazard, CB, Sr., Ontario
Josh Ramirez, LB, Sr., Ontario
Mike Chavers, DE, Sr., Ontario
Jose Flores, OL, Sr., Ontario
Justin Randall, DL, Jr., Ontario
Juan Bustamante, FS, Sr., Ontario
Ed Todd, LB, Jr., Colony
Joshus Andrews, OL, Sr., Colony
Quayshawn Buckley, OL, Sr., Colony
Jordan Bell, DB, Sr., Colony
Nick Gonzales, OL, Sr., Colony
Kenneth Scott, WR, Jr., Colony
Troy Gilroy, WR/DB, Jr., Montclair
Shawn Abbott, WR/DB, Sr., Montclair
Ray Gutierrez, OG, Sr., Montclair
Brian Chang, QB, Sr., Montclair
George Uko, DE, Jr., Don Lugo
Steven Bethley, DB, Jr., Don Lugo
Shane Spolar, OL, Jr., Don Lugo
Abraham Aguirre, OL, Jr., Don Lugo
Jayson Campos, WR, Jr., Don Lugo
Dewayne Williams, LB, Jr., Garey
Jesus Perez, OL, Sr., Garey
Martin Verdin, DL, So., Garey

Posted by Clay Fowler at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Football season isn't over yet for a couple of area quarterbacks.

Los Osos High School's Richard Brehaut and Upland's Josh Nunes will play in the Under Armour All-America Game Sunday night in Orlando, Fla. The all-star game featuring some of the top high school juniors and seniors in the country will air on ESPN at 5 p.m.

Here is a link to the player profiles.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)