February 2010 Archives

Saturday's Scores
GIRLS BASKETBALL
semifinals
Division 1AA
Long Beach Poly 59, Etiwanda 47
Corona Santiago 56, Troy 51
Division 1A
Summit 72, Canyon Springs 71
Santa Monica 67, Ayala 37

After Friday's competition, here's who's qualified for state and who is still alive.
Four semifinalists have clinched a spot in the top 6., while there are eight other wrestlers battling for the final state spots in each weight class.

Inland Valley semifinalists:
Cody Dixon, Colony (160)
Giordan Porter, Rialto (heavyweight)

Alive in consolation:
Justin Silva, Alta Loma (119)
Jaime Jimenez, Ontario (140)
Jaykob MIller, Etiwanda (145)
Brian Ryu, Diamond Bar (heavyweight)

Friday's Scores
BOYS BASKETBALL
semifinals
Division 1AA
Santa Ana Mater Dei 94, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde 58
Etiwanda 58, Long Beach Poly 55
Division 1A
Santa Monica 70, Colony 53
Lawndale Leuzinger 72, Loyola 59
Division 2AA
Murrieta Valley 71, Summit 67
Compton 71, Burbank 48
Division 2A
Eisenhower 82, Damien 74
Pasadena 63, Alhambra Keppel 48

After his name has been linked to the job for weeks, Anthony Rice was hired as the Pomona High School head football coach on Thursday, pending school board approval.

Following two CIF championship seasons in four years at Colony High School, the Pomona native will be the fifth coach in seven seasons for a program that hasn't made the playoffs since winning the Valle Vista League in 2003.

"When people think of Pomona, they shed a negative light on it," Rice said. "But that's not how I think of Pomona because that's where I'm from. These kids are in the same boat I was in when I was growing up and I want to turn this program back into what it used to be."

Unlike when Rice was a record-setting running back at Garey High School, the Pomona Unified School district is saturated with new schools. The dispersed talent is the reason for Pomona football's lack of recent success but the Red Devils have the talent to end their playoff drought, according to Rice.

Thursday's Scores
BOYS SOCCER
quarterfinals
Division 1
Edison 2, Mater Dei 0
Northwood 2, San Clemente 2 (Northwood wins on PKs, 5-4)
JSerra 1, Esperanza 1 (JSerra wins on PKs, 5-4)
Division 2
Santa Barbara 2, Saddleback 1
Katella 1, Corona Santiago 1 (Katella wins on PKs, 5-4)

BOYS SOCCER
MVP
Adrian Topete, Jr., Montclair

FIrst team
Arturo Mota, Jr., Chaffey
Daniel Lopez, Jr., Chaffey
Rene Cisneros, Sr., Colony
Jonathan Bocanegra, Jr., Don Lugo
Victor Cervantes, Sr., Garey
Saul Diaz, Sr., Garey
Bryan Rivera, Sr., Garey
Antonio Marquez, Sr., Montclair
Scott La Fontaine, Sr., Montclair
Andrew Peralta, Sr., Montclair
Juan Galarza, Sr., Montclair
Daniel Nunez, Sr., Ontario
Jorge Virgen, Sr., Ontario
David Rodriquez, Jr., Ontario

Wednesday's Scores
GIRLS BASKETBALL
quarterfinals
Division 1AA
Long Beach Poly 79, Colony 47
Etiwanda 50, Millikan 41
Troy 50, Great Oak 41
Corona Santiago 74, Jordan 61
Division 1A
Canyon Springs 67, Chino Hills 46
Summit 65, Mira Costa 49
Ayala 67, Crescenta Valley 51
Santa Monica 54, Rancho Cucamonga 46

BOYS BASKETBALL
MVPs
Julian Caldwell, Sr., Colony
Evan Brooks, Sr., Colony

First team
Matthew Baty, Sr., Chaffey
Demetrius Counts, Jr., Colony
Josiah Dennis, Jr., Colony
Sammeon Waller, Sr., Don Lugo
Geogre Uko, Sr., Don Lugo
Narciso Brito, Sr., Garey
Pascual Valadez, Sr., Montclair
Tory Gilroy, Sr., Montclair
Devyn Sampson, So., Montclair
Joseph Davis, Jr., Ontario

Tuesday's Scores
BOYS BASKETBALL
quarterfinals
Division 1AA
Mater Dei 80, Los Alamitos 60
Rancho Verde 79, Upland 74 (OT)
Etiwanda 78, Corona Centennial 72
Long Beach Poly 61, Los Osos 58
Division 1A
Santa Monica 40, Chino Hills 39
Colony 47, Tesoro 44
Leuzinger 68, Roosevelt 45
Loyola 74, Mission Viejo 53

After seven years as the offensive coordinator at Los Osos High School, Matt Bechtel was hired as the head football coach at Colony High School on Monday, pending board approval that can come no sooner than March 2. Bechtel, 35, begins his first stint as a head coach with plenty of hopes for a Colony program that won CIF championships in 2006 and 2007.

"If you look at the success at Colony and the potential there, it's the type of program that can be a force not just in the area but in the entire Inland Empire," Bechtel said. "I don't think winning will so much be the challenge here as it will be to adjust to a new coaching staff and a new philosophy."

Bechtel has spent nearly his entire coaching career in the Inland Empire, beginning with a year as an assistant at Cajon in 1996 before spending 1997-2002 as the quarterbacks coach at Upland. He was hired in 2002 to be the offensive coordinator at Los Osos, where he remained save the 2008 season during which he was the Chaffey College offensive coordinator.

Bechtel was the head coach-in-waiting at Los Osos behind Tom Martinez, the Grizzlies' inaugural head coach.

"My phone was blowing up all day with people asking me why I would leave if I was the next guy at Los Osos," Bechtel said. "It was a tough decision - I've had other opportunities since I've been at Los Osos - but I felt like this was the perfect fit with my philosophy. Tom (Martinez) is a young man. He's got plenty of years left and I didn't want to be the one to push him out."

Ontario Christian High School's Andrew Lachelt, who played a variety of positions for the Knights, has accepted an offer from the University of Oklahoma to be a preferred walk-on as a wide receiver, according to his father, Brent Lachelt.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Lachelt suffered a multitude of injuries during his high school career, beginning with shoulder problems that forced him from his original position of quarterback. After surgery to repair a torn ACL last year, Lachelt had his best season as a senior. The Christian League offensive MVP earned all-CIF honors as the Knights' leading passer and second-leading rusher (by a mere 24 yards). Playing the position he'll man at Oklahoma, he had 12 receptions for 199 yards and three touchdowns for Ontario Christian, which reached the CIF championship game.

Saturday's Scores
GIRLS BASKETBALL
second round
Division 1AA
Colony 70, Lynwood 68
Etiwanda 70, Rialto 58
Troy 47, Silverado 29
Division 1A
Chino Hills 41, El Toro 29
Summit 67, Riverside Poly 35
Ayala 68, Capistrano Valley 57
Rancho Cucamonga 60, Redlands East Valley 39
Division 2A
Diamond Ranch 58, Moorpark 24
Division 3AA
Riverside Arlington 54, Eisenhower 53
Division 3A
Bonita 58, Gahr 36
Division 4AA
Harvard-Westlake 76, St. Lucy's 54
Division 5AA
Serra 66, Ontario Christian 23
Division 6A
Calvary Baptist 45, Joshua Springs 37

GIRLS WATER POLO
quarterfinals
Division 6
Chadwick 11, Bonita 10

Friday's Scores
BOYS BASKETBALL
second round
Division 1AA
Upland 68, Montebello 63
Etiwanda 62, Trabuco Hills 34
Los Osos 86, Thousand Oaks 79 (OT)
Division 1A
Chino Hills 56, Walnut 38
Colony 84, Paloma Valley 68
Division 2AA
Alta Loma 63, Simi Valley 55
Division 2AA
Eisenhower 75, Dos Pueblos 46
Damien 62, Westlake 50
Pasadena 79, Ayala 56
Division 4AA
Morningside 80, San Dimas 68
Division 5AA
Oxnard Santa Clara 67, Western Christian 59
La Verne Lutheran 69, St. Margaret's 52

GIRLS SOCCER
first round
Division 1
Los Osos 1, Temecula Valley 0
Mater Dei 3, Upland 0
Division 2
Newport Beach Corona del Mar 1, Montclair 1 (CdM wins on PKs 5-3)
Anaheim Canyon 9, Ontario 0
Yucaipa 3, Colony 0
Division 6
San Dimas 3, Bell Gardens 0
Ontario Christian 6, Heritage 0

GIRLS WATER POLO
quarterfinals
Division 3
St. Lucy's 11, Harvard-Westlake 9
Division 5
Los Osos 15, La Habra 4
Sunny Hills 2, Redlands 1
Troy 4, Redlands East Valley 3
Arlington 8, Upland 7

Everything else being equal, there are worse places to go than Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach.
But Montclair girls soccer coach Sean Luebbers would prefer not to be going there. His Cavaliers, Mt. Baldy League champions, are forced to play their first round game at Corona del Mar instead of at home because of a ball violation.
Luebbers said he was using an older model Spalding ball, the TF2000 instead of the official Spalding TF5000. He said he knew there was a newer ball, but didn't realize using the older one constituted a ball violation. Even when an official recently pointed out that he was using the old ball, the official didn't indicate that it was a ball violation.
Luebbers didn't find out about the penalty (which is common in these situations) until he looked at the playoff bracket sheet.
So not only does Montclair have to hit the road in the first round, but if the Cavaliers win, they don't have any better chance of being at home in subsequent rounds because the first-round game counts as a home game.
Luebbers said he hadn't bought the TF5000 balls before, but he has them now, ready so he doesn't get penalized again.

Thursday's Scores
GIRLS BASKETBALL
first-round
Division 1-AA
Colony 71, Redlands 26
Rialto 58, La Sierra 36
Etiwanda 74, Quartz Hill 36
Great Oak 68, Miller 26
Corona Santiago 63, Upland 36
Division 1-A
Chino Hills 46, Marina 31
Summit 64, Arroyo Valley 14
Ayala 80, Anaheim 20
Riverside King 57, Ontario 43
Rancho Cucamonga 78, West Covina 36
Perris 59, Chino 34
Division 2-AA
Brea Olinda 71, Alta Loma 19
Whittier 52, Montclair 27
Edison 90, Kaiser 22
Division 2-A
Diamond Ranch 73, Camarillo 33
Division 3-AA
Eisenhower 72, Beaumont 47
Division 3-A
Bonita 75, Gabrelino 18
Division 4-AA
St. Lucy's 49, Covina 48 (OT)
Alemany 59, San Dimas 23
Division 5-AA
Ontario Christian 45, CAMS 29

BOYS SOCCER
first round
Division 1
Lake Forest El Toro 1, Upland 0
Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro 1, Los Osos 0
Irvine Northwood 1, Rancho Cucamonga 0
Division 2
Chino Hills 2, Loara 0
Valley View 3, Diamond Bar 2
Division 3
Garey 3, California 0
Montclair 2, Nogales 0
Ontario 1, Norte Vista 0
Division 4
Diamond Ranch 4, Fillmore 1
Division 5
Ganesha 1, Garden Grove 0 (OT)
Pomona 2, Desert Mirage 1
Division 6
Oak Hills 2, Ontario Christian 1
Viewpoint 3, Webb 0
Western Christian 2, Woodcrest Christian 0

GIRLS WATER POLO
first round
Division 6
Bonita 16, Orange 10
Division 7
Downey 19, Montclair 2
Warren 11, Don Lugo 6
Palm Desert 23, Ontario 4

Wednesday's Scores
BOYS BASKETBALL
first round
Division 1-AA
Etiwanda 64, Palmdale 41
Upland 56, Silverado 54
Los Osos 62, Paramount 48
Division 1-A
Colony 56, Riverside Poly 41
Capistrano Valley 69, Bloomington 61
Cajon 86, Rancho Cucamonga 66
Patriot 58, Montclair 55
Division 2-AA
Summit 81, Hawthorne 54
Alta Loma 76, Serrano 58
Division 2-A
Eisenhower 72, Claremont 43
Damien 57, Don Lugo 49 (OT)
Ayala 64, Hesperia 62
Division 3-A
Bonita 65, Barstow 27
Corona del Mar 69, Diamond Ranch 60
Division 4-AA
San Dimas 65, Rim of the World 33
Division 5-AA
Webb 52, Miliken Community 25
Western Christian 71, Lancaster Desert Christian 43
La Verne Lutheran 77, St. Bernard 45

GIRLS SOCCER
wild-card round
Division 1
Long Beach Millikan 1, Claremont 0 (OT)
Tesoro 3, Etiwanda 1
Division 2
Burbank Burroughs 2, Chino 1
Ontario 3, Fontana 1

GIRLS WATER POLO
first round
Division 3
St. Lucy's 16, Chaparral 7
Riverside King 11, Ayala 4
Division 5
Los Osos 14, Fontana 1
Sunny Hills 8, Alta Loma 5
Upland 6, Santa Monica 3

Etiwanda junior offensive tackle Jamal Prater was offered a scholarship by Washington State on Monday, according to Etiwanda head football coach Steve Bryce. This could be the first of many offers for the 6-foot-5, 295-pound right tackle seeing as every Pac-10 school except Arizona has already been in contact with him.

In fact, Washington State has been interested since assistant coach Malik Roberson, at Etiwanda to finalize the commitment of Eagles senior receiver Bobby Ratliff in November, couldn't help but notice Prater in the weight room.

"Coach Roberson just happened to be talking to Bobby over in the area where the offensive linemen were working out," Bryce said. "And Jamal was doing plyometric jumps onto a 38-inch box and I saw coach Roberson do a double take when this 6-5, 285-pound kid was jumping up onto these boxes like they were nothing."

Roberson immediately asked for some game film of Prater and called Bryce the next day in search of his transcripts. Prater's 3.4 grade-point average will only increase his options.

Los Osos High School is hosting a charity basketball event on Saturday to raise money for cancer. Inspired by Los Osos boys baskeball coach David Smith, who is battling colon cancer, and Ontario Fire Department captain Chip Smith, whom David Smith met while both were undergoing cancer treatment, three basketball games will be played in an effort to raise money for cancer research at City of Hope and San Antonio Community Hospital. The basketball games, however, won't feature high schoolers.

It's never too early to talk about next football season. Here the top 20 college prospects in the area according to James Escarcega of SGV IE Football Scouting. They include players from Summit, Chino Hills, Pomona, Garey, Etiwanda and Claremont.

DIVISION 1-AA
Aliso Niguel at No. 1 Long Beach Poly
No. 16 Los Osos at Alhambra
Palmdale at No. 9 Lynwood
Redlands at No. 7 Colony
Vista Murrieta at No. 5 Cajon
No. 12 Milikan at Oxnard Pacifica
La Sierra at No. 13 Rialto
Quartz Hill at No. 4 Etiwanda
Downey at No. 3 Troy
No. 14 Silverado at Knight
Long Beach Cabrillo at No. 11 San Clemente
Miller at No. 6 Great Oak
Redondo Union at No. 8 Jordan
No. 10 Warren at Schurr
Long Beach Wilson at No. 15 Rancho Verde
Upland at No. 2 Corona Santiago

First-round play gets underway on Thursday.

DIVISION 1-AA
Corona at No. 1 Mater Dei
No. 16 Jordan at Vista Murrieta
Arcadia at No. 9 Oxnard Pacifica
San Clemente at No. 8 Los Alamitos
Corona Santiago at No. 5 Montebello
Silverado at No. 10 Upland
Lakewood at No. 13 Redlands
Downey at No. 4 Rancho Verde
Long Beach Cabrillo at No. 3 Corona Centennial
Lynwood at No. 14 Ventura
Trabuco Hills at No. 12 Oxnard
Palmdale at No. 6 Etiwanda
Bell Gardens at No. 7 Thousand Oaks
No. 11 Los Osos at Paramount
Riverside King at No. 15 Knight
Great Oak at No. 2 Long Beach Poly

First-round play gets underway on Wednesday.

DIVISION III
Glendora at No. 1 Riverside Poly
Temescal Canyon at El Rancho
Whittier at Harvard-Westlake
Wild card A at No. 4 St. Lucy's
Wild card B at No. 3 Murrieta Valley
Riverside King at Ayala
Chaparral at La Serna
Louisville at No. 2 Corona Santiago
Wild card A: Roosevelt at Great Oak.
Wild card B: California at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

When the new league alignment that begins in September for the Mt. SAC Area was approved last fall, one of the forgotten things was that since essentially the remainder of the Miramonte and San Antonio leagues (plus Diamond Bar from the Sierra) were combined for a 7-team league, what would they call the new league?
I figured they would probably call it either the Miramonte or San Antonio. But no, it's the Hacienda League. A league that predates me (and I've been in the area for almost 15 years), but I am aware of it. Must be some old school principals.

I don't know all the alignments of the Hacienda Leagues, but at least from 1984-85, the alignment was:
Bonita, Chino, Diamond Bar, Etiwanda, Ganesha, Garey, Montclair, Ontario.
In 1986, Diamond Bar left and it was left with a 7-team league I believe, and by 1988, Chino was out and left it a 6-team league. I believe the league ceased to exist around 1991, when Etiwanda left to join the Baseline League, then a year later joined the all-Chaffey district Mt. Baldy League.

The new Hacienda League? It's got Bonita, Diamond Bar, Diamond Ranch, Los Altos, Rowland, Walnut, and West Covina. So I'm guessing it's either Bonita principal Bob Ketterling or Diamond Bar principal Denis Paul at work to resurrect the Hacienda League name, since those are the only 2 schools that cross over from what I have.

Although the brackets don't come out until Thursday, I believe, the seeding has been done for the Division 6 dual meet wrestling, taking place at Baldwin Park Sierra Vista High School on Saturday.

Although defending champion Morro Bay is seeded No. 1, the next three teams are Oak Hills, Bloomington and Kaiser in that order. Only the 9 league champions are guaranteed spots in the 16-team bracket in D6, so with Kaiser seeded fourth, the Cats will take one of those 7 at-large spots, and another will go to Santa Ynez, runner-up in the Los Padres League behind Sierra Vista and seeded fifth for Saturday.

The Colony High School boys basketball team finished its fifth consecutive undefeated run through the Mt. Baldy League in style Tuesday night.... with a 39-point win over Montclair, its closest league challenger this year. Coincidentally, the Colony girls capped its fourth straight year without a loss in the Mt. Baldy League with a 70-29 win over Montclair.

Boys coach Jerry De Fabiis disappeared into the locker room after the buzzer only to emerge with a Colony basketball jersey... you can probably guess what number was on the back. After the celebration and team pictures at mid-court, by the time the Titans lined up to cut down the nets in South Ontario, De Fabiis had pulled on jersey No. 50.

"A lot of people say, 'Well, your league isn't that good,' " De Fabiis said. "But to come in here every night and be ready is something to be proud of. This league is better than people think and to not get caught on one night ... this is something you can tell your kids about."

Saturday's Baseline League Wrestling Finals Results
Top 3 advance to CIF-SS Inland Division individual tournament at Fountain Valley HS, 4th place is alternate.
103: 1. Derek Avalos (Alta Loma), 2. Justin Padilla (Los Osos) 3. Omar Rivera (Etiwanda) 4. Trevor Zbinden (Rancho Cucamonga), 112. Michael Rodriquez (AL), 2. Spencer Glasheen (Upland), 3. Andrew Avila (Etiwanda), 4. Alex Miller (LO), 119: Tim Maldonado (LO), 2. Justin Silva (AL), 3. Marvin Cano (U), 4. Evan Romero (E), 125: 1. Andrew Decker (U), 2. Taylor King (AL), 3. Danny Cardenas (E), 4. Anthony Banke (LO), 130: 1. Eli Mack, (AL), 2. Kyle Voce (LO), 3. Travis Chapman (U), 4. Paul Gallant (E), 135: 1. Jacob Leon, (AL), 2. Evan Coss (E), 3. Sasan Amini (LO), 4. Tim Tran (RC), 140: 1. Joseph Rodriquez, (AL), 2. Albert Hernandez (U), 3. Dylan Handlen (LO), 4. David Velasquez (E), 145. Jaykob Miller (E), 2. Javier Hernadez (AL), 3. Jonathan Ivy (Claremont), 4. Javier Aguilar, 152: 1. Larry Cutbirth (E), 2. Elijah Anderson (AL), 3. Brandon Cruz (U), 4. Brennan Biewener (Cl),160: 1. Jon Solano (LO), 2. Antonio Rivera (E), 3. Kyle Maloney (U), 4. Jordan Toki, (AL), 171: 1. Ian Poling (U), 2. Andrew Giles (AL), 3. Ramon Carlos (E), 4. Chris Hughes (RC), 189: JJ Everard (E), 2. Adrian Giles (AL), 3. Anthony Martinez (LO), 4. Nick Auzenre, (RC), 215. Ameer Mohameed (U), 2. Egypt Littlejohn (E), 3. River Harris (RC), 4. Ryan Mansfield (LO), Hvy: 1. Bret Cote (LO), 2. Javier Gonzalez (U), 3. Austin Miley (E), 4. Kevin Valle (AL).
Alta Loma and Etiwanda Qualified 11 kids for CIF. Upland had 10, Los Osos had 8, Rancho Cucamonga and Claremont had 1 each

BOYS
DIVISION 1
1. Millikan
2. Mater Dei
3. West Torrance
4. JSerra
5. Edison
6. San Clemente
7T. El Toro
7T. Mission Viejo
9. Mira Costa
10T. Loyola
10T. Royal

Claremont High School senior running back Tyler Singleton, 18, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old female classmate. The three-year starter on the football team, a two-time All-Baseline League selection, was released from custody Friday after posting $100,000 bail. Here is a link to the story.

Note: The boys and girls basketball playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday. You can find them here or at cifss.org.

BOYS
DIVISION 1-AA
1. Mater Dei
2. Long Beach Poly
3. Corona Centennial
4. Rancho Verde
5. Etiwanda
6. Montebello
7. Thousand Oaks
8. Los Alamitos
9. Upland
10. Pacifica
11. Redlands
12. Los Osos
13. Ventura
14. Oxnard
15. Knight
16. Jordan

• Having not received his Fresno State sweatshirt by Wednesday's signing ceremony, Los Osos High School cornerback Sean Alston borrowed a Bulldogs sweatshirt from a fellow Fresno signee who conveniently attend a school less than a mile from his. Greg Watson, quarterback of rival Rancho Cucamonga, invited Alston to his house to pick up a sweatshirt..."Once enemies," Alston said, "now teammates." The sweatshirt may not have been the coolest peice of Fresno State paraphernalia on Alston's person Wednesday. The Los Osos senior was wearing a cotton replica of an old school facemask-less Fresno State footbal helmet... if those things don't catch on soon, I'll be shocked.
• Richard Bell, the father of Colony cornerback Jered Bell, made a deal before his son signed with Colorado on Wednesday. A wing back at Nebraska from 1985-90, Richard agreed to brand himself a Colorado fan for as long as Jered wears the black and gold. "As soon as he graduates," Richard said, "I'm back to Nebraska."
• Colony running back Jamil Austin, who after a 2,000-yard season signed with Portland State of the FCS (formerly Division I-AA), was offered an official visit to Washington State by the coaching staff a week before national signing day. He refused, staunchly unwilling to go back on his verbal commitment to Portland State, displaying an attitude that has all but disappeared in the back-stabbing mayhem that has become college recruiting.

Tossing around a few candidates for the recently vacated Colony High School head coaching position...

Matt Bechtel: As some of the comments have mentioned, Los Osos High School's offensive coordinator seems the hottest assistant coach in the Inland Valley. If he's not playing the role of Texas' Will Mushcmap to Los Osos head coach Tom Martinez's Mack Brown, Colony might be a good fit for a young up and coming coach like Bechtel. After a year at Chaffey College, the effect Bechtel had in his return to Los Osos last season was obvious. Having graduated three-year starting quarterback Richard Brehaut to UCLA and do-everything running back Arby Fields to Northwestern, Los Osos surged to the CIF championship game in no small part because of Bechtel.

Eric Martinez: The Upland defensive coordinator has not only been to four consecutive CIF-SS Central Division champioinship games (emerging on the winning side of three of them), he has gone twice as Colony's defensive coordinator. After winning titles with the Titans in 2006 and 2007, he coordinated the Upland defense that carried the Highlanders to the 2009 CIF title. His ties to Colony coupled with his uncanny run of success seem to make him an obvious candidate.

John Kuslieka: The former Alta Loma head coach whose name staff writer Pete Marshall brought up is famaliar with the area. In eight years at Alta Loma before resigning last season, Kuslieka compiled a 36-37-1 record, the last seven seasons of which were in the ultra-competitive Baseline League. Kuslieka seems to have the right mix of a hard-line attitude and motivational approach that might work well at Colony.

National signing day was a long time coming for Jake Hernandez, who has been verbally committed to play baseball at USC for nearly as long as he has been attending Los Osos High School.

Despite finally following through on the verbal commitment the catcher made as a freshman by inking his name on a letter of intent Wednesday, in an ironic twist the senior may not play at USC, depending on where he is selected in the June Major League Baseball first-year player draft.

That didn't make signing his name on Wednesday any less sweet.

"USC has always been my dream school," Hernandez said. "It was an unbelievable feeling to actually sign and make it real."

Kori Carter validated Stanford's interest with three state championships. And counting.

On Wednesday the Claremont High School hurdler gave Stanford her stamp of validation by signing a national letter of intent to join the Cardinal. The senior, whose decision came down to scholarship offers from Stanford and USC, is looking forward to more than just track when she arrives in Palo Alto.

"It really wasn't a tough decision," Carter said. "Yeah I had others recruiting me but Stanford can develop me academically and athletically. So, I kind of got the best of both worlds."

Carter, the two-time defending 300-meter intermediate hurdling state champion and defending 100-meter high hurdling state champ, will run both events in college. She passed Stanford's rigirous acceptance process last summer, shortly after which she verbally committed to the school that has shown interest in her since she was a freshman.

"Track is such a big part of my life, one of my biggest passions," Carter said. "For it to get me to college is amazing."

After two CIF championships in his four years at Colony High School, head football coach Anthony Rice resigned Tuesday, with his sights set on the head coaching job at Pomona High School.

Rice, 35, desires an administrative position, something that appears difficult to obtain at Colony amidst the financial crisis. His Jan. 25 application for the Pomona head coaching position isn't Rice's only link to the job, according to former Pomona head football coach John Brown.

After one year as coach, Brown resigned Jan. 8 on the premise that Rice was offered the Pomona head coaching position behind Brown's back, a claim Rice and Pomona principal Roger Fasting denied. Rice said he was never offered the head coaching position, but shortly after the season ended in November, Pomona athletic director Tom Sweeney contacted him about an offensive coordinator position under Brown.

Brown's resignation and Rice's application for the Pomona head coaching position are not related, according to Rice.

"It's very much a coincidence," Rice said. "Everybody can say what they want, but I have to go through the same process as everybody else that applied for the job. Let the naysayers fall where they may."

Local football players who signed letters of intent today:
Sean Alston, Los Osos, CB -- Fresno State
Eric Alt, OL/DL, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Kennan Anderson, FB/LB, Pomona -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Jamil Austin, RB, Colony -- Portland State (FCS)
Jered Bell, DB, Colony -- Colorado
Gary Berwick, OL, Rancho Cucamonga -- San Diego (FCS)
Steven Bethley, DB, Don Lugo -- Montana State (FCS)
Anthony Brown, RB/DB, Kaiser -- USC
Dreon Brown, RB/DB, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
David Dash, RB, Miller -- Montana State (FCS)
Bo Dauser, OL, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Ronald Douglas, RB, Chaffey -- Sacramento State (FCS)
Brandon Flannigan, WR, Colony -- Holy Cross (FCS)
Manase Foketi, OL, Mt. SAC (Sultana) -- Kansas State
Ricky Howard, TE, Chaffey College (Hesperia) -- Iowa State
Deron Jefferson, Pomona, OT -- University of Texas at El Paso
Britt Johnson, OL/DL -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Darrian Lewis, Pomona, DB -- Eastern Michigan
Nick Martin, OL, Los Osos -- University of Texas at El Paso
Kenny Mitchell, WR, Etiwanda -- Humbolt State (Division II)
Austin Miley, DT, Etiwanda -- Jamestown College (NAIA)
Gabriel Munoz, LB, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
State Bobby Ratliff, WR, Etiwanda -- Washington State
Marvin Rice, DT, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Ricky Rocco, LB, Colony -- Northern Arizona (FCS)
Angel Santiago, QB, Etiwanda -- Army
Kenneth Scott, WR, Colony -- Utah
Josh Shirley, LB, Kaiser -- UCLA
Corey Sims, DB, Upland -- Sacramento State (FCS)
B.J. Sonboli, Los Osos, OL -- Drake (FCS)
Randall Telfer, TE, Rancho Cucamonga -- USC
Nick Tito, LB, Etiwanda -- Humbolt State (Division II)
Edward Todd, LB, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Greg Todd, LB, Colony -- New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
Tama Tuai, DE, Colony -- Kentucky State
Taylor Tuliaupupu, LB, Claremont -- Montana (FCS)
George Uko, DL, Don Lugo -- USC
Tony Washington, DL, Los Osos -- Oregon
Jacob Wass, Webb, DE -- UC Davis (FCS)
Greg Watson, QB, Rancho Cucamonga -- Fresno State

Chaffey High School running back Ronald Douglas, whose 2,671 yards, were the third-most in the state when his season ended in the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs, has verbally committed to Sacramento State of the FCS, formerly Division I-AA. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, who averaged eight yards a carry and scored 24 TDs this season, also had scholarship offers from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Jose State.

Gary Berwick, a three-year starter at center for Rancho Cucamonga High School, has verbally committed to the University of San Digeo, also of the FCS. The 6-foot, 235-pounder was the quarterback of the offensive line that helped lead the Cougars to an undefeated 2008 season and the CIF-SS Central Division championship.