July 2011 Archives

Donte Deayon's front-row seat for Summit High School football teammate Devon Blackmon's three-year courtship by everyone from the Pac-12 to the SEC apparently left a lasting impression.

Deayon verbally committed exactly one scholarship offer into his recruitment.

From the parade of college coaches through the Summit campus to the higher-intensity home visits prior to Blackmon's commitment to Oregon less than a month before national signing day, Deayon saw no reason to endure the stress after Boise State offered the rising senior defensive back a scholarship this summer.

Claremont High School will hold its 16th annual passing tournament Friday and Saturday beginning with pool play at 8 a.m. Friday. The Wolfpack Challenge Varsity Passing Tournament consistently draws a talented field from the Inland Empire, Los Angeles Area and Orange County and this year appears no different.

Sixteen teams will advance out of Friday's pool play to Saturday's championship round, which begins at 9 a.m. Claremont has won the tournament twice, most recently in 2009. Encino Crespi is the defending champion. The pools are as follows:

Pool 1: Perris, Claremont, Gabrielino, Santa Fe, Webb
Pool 2: Viewpoint, Charter Oak, Northwood, Palmdale, Villa Park
Pool 3: Summit, Glendora, Crespi, St. Bonaventure, La Salle
Pool 4: Culver City, Burroughs, St. Francis, Cathedral, Etiwanda
Pool 5: Esperanza, Silverado, Muir, Chino Hills, Southeast

Joe Laski, the head baseball coach for seven years at Gabrielino High School, has been hired to take over the baseball program at Rancho Cucamonga. Laski, 33, was an assistant coach last year at Baldwin Park following seven seasons at Gabrielino, the last four of which ended in Mission League championships. He was approved by the school board on Tuesday to replace Chris Amaya, who mysteriously resigned in May following his fifth year as the Cougars head baseball coach and the team's fourth consecutive postseason appearance.

"My perception is that this program has been a good program where players have gone on and played in college and the team has been competitive," Laski said. "When you ask people about Rancho Cucamonga, they say it's a good program. I want people to say it's great. I want this program to standout."

Rancho Cucamonga won two wild card games combined in the last four seasons, each of which ended in the first round of the playoffs. The Cougars finished third in the Baseline League three consecutive seasons before a fourth-place finish last year. Etiwanda, the third place team from the Baseline League last season, reached the CIF-SS Division 2 championship game.

BASIC, a non-profit organization, is hosting a fund-raiser for safety and awareness to prevent head injuries in football on Aug. 6 at New Life Community Church in Pomona from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to the BASIC press release, 85 percent of all brain-related injuries occur during football practice and 80 percent of concussions go unreported for children 15 years old and younger.

Kermit Alexander, a UCLA graduate and the San Francisco 49ers first-round pick in 1963, will be a guest speaker at the event themed "high performance success in athletics, academics and life." To register for the event, contact directors Kenny and Mary Lawler, parents of the highly recruited Upland High School receiver Kenny Lawler, at (626) 387-3880 or click here. The suggested donation is $20 and there will be prizes given away, including USC, UCLA, NFL and concert tickets, NFL autographed footballs and Boise State autographed footballs and gift cards.

After the departure of Brice Sunderland, who served as the Etiwanda High School athletic director the last 14 years, the school didn't have to look far for a replacement. As of July 1, Etiwanda softball coach David Masucci expanded his duties to include athletic director. A science teacher for 10 years and the softball coach since 2002, Masucci was all to glad to add to his responsibilities when he was hired as the athletic director.

"I'm attracted to all the sporting events anyway but this job just gives me a chance to really be involved," Masucci said. "Now I'm just getting paid to do what I love."

Summit running back Jamaal Williams verbally committed to BYU on Wednesday, according to Summit head coach Tony Barile. The rising senior who is listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, chose BYU among scholarship offers from Utah, Boise State, San Diego State, New Mexico State and Idaho.

There was talk Williams would play defense in college - he is likely well over 180 pounds currently but is athletic enough to play a variety of positions, including safety - but BYU prefers he play running back. Williams carried 93 times for 717 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Williams also made 42 tackles, two sacks and an interception playing a variety of positions on defense.

Williams is the second player from Summit to commit this summer after defensive back Donte Deayon issued a verbal pledge to Boise State three weeks ago while attending the school's camp.

While the skill players are busy with seven-on-seven, Colony High School will host a lineman competiton on Saturday. Teams from 18 schools are expected to participate including Etiwanda, Yucaipa, Temeclua Chaparral, Corona, Corona Santiago, Riverside Arlington and West Covina South Hills. The competition will begin at 9 a.m. and end around 2 p.m.

In early August Indiana Pacers point guard Darren Collison, an Etiwanda High School graduate, will hold the first of what is expected to be many basketball camps at Etiwanda. The second-year pro will be on hand from Aug. 2-6 for two seperate segments of the camp. Campers in grades 6-8 are welcomed from Aug. 2-4 for sessions lasting from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. while grades 3-5 are welcomed on Aug. 4-6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $199 per camper. For more information, visit darrencollison.com.

There will be several guest speakers, including NBA players, former college players and college coaches. Collison, a UCLA graduate, debated holding the camp in Los Angeles but decided the best place was the Inland Empire.

"I felt like what we did as a group at Etiwanda HIgh School, winning CIF (in 2005) and beating some L.A. schools was real special to me and it made me feel like there are some players in the Inland Empire that can be put on the map," Collison said. "I felt like it was the best possible place to do the camp, in the Inland Empire, just to get the younger kids out. I can't remember the last time we had an NBA player who put a camp on out here."