Diamond Ranch is right on schedule...

"To get through the Walnut game coming out strong in the second half and coming out and beating Rowland... Rowland is one of those teams deciding if it's going to be in the top tier or the bottom tier of the league," Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton said. "By winning those games, we've pushed ourselves toward the top tier and if we can come out and beat Los Altos in two weeks then we've pretty much locked up a playoff spot."

The Panthers have a well-timed bye this week before traveling to winless Hacienda Heights Los Altos. The final two teams on the Panthers' league schedule rank Nos. 1 and 2 in the entire CIF-SS Southeast Division. No. 1 West Covina will pay the Panthers' a visit Nov. 5 before Diamond Ranch faces old Miramonte League foe Bonita, the second-ranked team in the division, on Nov. 12. Bonita and West Covina are a combined 4-0 in league and 11-1 overall.

The most important component of the remaining schedule may be the bye week seeing as Diamond Ranch's leading rusher Chase Price sprained his ankle Saturday. The San Diego State-bound senior has been carrying the load, evidenced by his 935 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games but didn't return to Saturday's game after sustaining the injury late in the third quarter.

"He's got almost 300 receiving yards on the season too, so he's just shy of 200 yards and two touchdowns a game and that doesn't count what he's doing on defense," Layton said of Price. "He rolled his ankle and it hurt him but we took him to the doctor as a precautionary measure and there are no tears, just a sprain. The timing of the bye allows him to rest up for a week and if we feel we need to rest him against Los Altos we might do that too, but he'll be back."

Price isn't the only Diamond Ranch running back having success. Senior Jacoby Carter and junior Andrew Fischer have thrived in limited roles that may increase. The reason may be an offensive line bolstered by the return of left tackle Alvaro Estrella in time for league play. According to Layton, the senior hampered by a shoulder injury before the season is entering his name in the discussion of the best offensive linemen to come through a Diamond Ranch program that produced New Orleans Saints' 2010 second-round draft pick Charles Brown, among others.

"We're pretty conservative with our pancake stickers but he's been getting five, six, seven a game," Layton said. "He's forcing players on other teams to tap out, just quit. We've had some good offensive linemen come through this school but what he's doing right now is just dominant and he's getting a lot of buzz from the colleges."