Is Colony HS back to championship form?
You do the math...
- Chino Hills is undoubtedly a CIF-championship caliber team.
- Colony beat Chino Hills, 22-6, on Friday.
By my calculations, Colony is, at the very least, back in the discussion. Friday was the Titans' second legit win in as many weeks. With a 25-20 win two weeks ago, they knocked Diamond Ranch from its perch atop the CIF-SS Southeast Division rankings.
"People thought we'd go 0-5 with this schedule," Colony head coach Anthony Rice said of a nonleague slate with Kaiser and Alta Loma remaining. "With what we're doing, I'm impressed."
Despite Colony's CIF-SS Central Division titles in '06 and '07, the question for some people is: would Colony have collected all that hardware had the Baseline and Sierra Leagues joined the Central Division prior to last season?
For the first time since their championship runs began, the Titans (2-1) defeated a Sierra/Baseline League team not named Alta Loma. Of course, a few things need to be qualified about the win over Chino Hills.
Chino Hills' best player, All-CIF safety/receiver Ifo Ekpre-Olomu missed the majority of the last three quarters with a leg injury I'm hoping to find out more about today. Quarterback Ryan Verdugo was knocked out of the game with about 7 minutes to play when he took a hit on the elbow. The Huskies turned the ball over FIVE times, a feat that would usually leave a team hopeless. But Chino Hills trailed just 7-6 entering the fourth quarter.
There wasn't much about the game that was conventional - Colony scored the back-breaking TD on a Brandon Flannigan 90-yard punt return - except for Colony's defense. If Colony is championship caliber, their defense is far and away the main reason. This is the unit that could carry the Titans deep in the playoffs despite an offense with its share of shortcomings. The defense is littered with at least three Division I players and includes a couple more probable college players.
Kenneth Scott, who will play receiver at Utah next year, isn't too shabby as a 6-foot-3, 198-pound safety. Cornerback Jered Bell already has two interceptions in three games to go with his handful of scholarship offers.
Middle linebacker Edward Todd is one of three Todd brothers who are heavy contributers (with the emphasis on heavy) and may be the best player on this talent-laden defense. The 6-1, 255-pound senior helped hold Chino Hills to 62 rushing yards and 79 passing yards on Friday. Greg Todd, a 6-0, 275-pound nose tackle is back after the senior missed all of last season with an ankle injury. Little brother Michael, a 5-10, 195-pound sophomore DB, already has two sacks and an interception this season.
"This is the most talented defense I've ever had," Rice said, after a moment of hesitation. (Remember, he's had defenses good enough to win two CIF titles and produce several Pac-10 players)
Comments
Amazing that after winning two games the one person NO ONE has mentioned is JAMIL AUSTIN!
Without this kid Colony would very well have lost the Diamond Ranch game. He single handly made that game!
We all know Rice has his favorites but geez Kenneth Scott and Jared Bell get top billing here? NO WAY!
Posted by: Jordan | September 21, 2009 3:33 PM