August 2011 Archives

The long-awaited resurgence of a once-proud Diamond Bar program appeared to be underway last season when the Brahmas won their first four games. It was promptly put to an end by three losses to open league, including a 41-0 beat down at the hands of Diamond Ranch. Under new head coach Ryan Maine, Diamond Bar is hoping this is the seaon of the real resurgence.

"It's tough because they're not going to believe you until you go out and win games," Maine said.

The Brahmas may feature the most-touted quarterback in the league as 6-foot-4 Henry Omana finally takes over his own team after rotating last season. Maine expects the strong-armed pocket passer to have a breakout year directing the spread offense along with a healthy dose of help from running back Jamaal Clayton, one of seven returning starters on offense along with standout receiver George Katrib.

Diamond Ranch was heading for apparent league title contention last season until dropping its final two games to Bonita and West Covina, who later played for the CIF title, by a combined score of 79-20. An uncharacteristic first-round playoff loss following consecutive trips to the CIF-SS Southeast Division championship game and the loss of its starting quarterback to baseball have created some uncertainty for Diamond Ranch this season.

The Panthers are replacing more than they expected after losing two running backs to college football and their star receiver in addition to a quarterback they figured would return. With Cesar Carillo electing to focus on baseball, senior Isiah Locke will step in to quarterback a team that will rely on a strong offensive front.

"We like what we're doing up front on both sides of the ball and that's where is starts," Diamond Ranch head coach Roddy Layton said. "If we have strong line play that will establish the running game and help open up the pass."

Shawn Kennedy may have had to recover from a sore neck, too, given the swiveling required to watch the San Dimas High School football team's aerial attack last season.
The Saints senior, who missed 2010 with a shoulder injury after quarterbacking the team to a CIF-SS championship in 2009, will get to partake in the ramped-up passing game when he returns this year.

Well, maybe nobody needed a neck brace, but by San Dimas standards coach Bill Zernickow called for an extraordinary amount of passes last season. As a sophomore, Kennedy's Valle Vista League and CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division championship team had 101 more rushing attempts than last year's team. The Saints team that finished third in league and exited the playoffs courtesy of a 33-point semifinal loss to eventual CIF-SS champ Monrovia last season, had 70 more pass attempts than during Kennedy's sophomore season.

"Last year we threw it the most we've ever thrown it here," Zernickow said. "This year we're going to throw it a lot, too. We've always known Shawn can do it. We wanted to give him the opportunity as soon as we could."

Following a three-win season, Don Lugo wouldn't figure to generate an abundance of conversation entering 2011. Without being prompted, all but one Mt. Baldy League coach readily aknowledged the Conquistadores as a league title contender.

The most obvious explination for the talk of resurgence is the lack of kindness shown Don Lugo by the football gods last season when it lost five starters to injury in one preseason scrimmage alone. The healthy roster is headlined by the receiving duo of 6-foot-4 Josh Thompson and 6-3 Michael Carr, who each have multiple Division I offers. Though coach Rick Martin gravitates to the ground game, he admittedly will be quick to pull the trigger if teams are playing the run.

"If you're going to load the box on me, that means you have to play one-on-one with 6-3 and 6-4," Martin said. "Both those kids can run and both can climb the ladder."

If talent alone won games, we could probably hand Colony the Mt. Baldy League title right now. In addition to the return of electrifying utility man Chaz Nelson and Robert Wagner, a linebacker already with a handlful of scholarship offers the Titans received a pair of transfers who may put them over the top.

The athletic Bryan Harper, a Washington commit who transferred from Carter, is battling for the starting quarterback job with Claremont junior transfer Matt Simko, a 6-foot-3 pocket passer. The battle is so close that head coach Matt Bechtel said he may have to rotate the two. Whoever is throwing the passes will have the services of a pair of track star receivers in addition to the shifty Nelson, who will see time at running back as well.

"Year in, year out we expect to compete for the Mt. Baldy League championship and the Central Division championship," Bechtel said. "That's not being cocky; that's just what we expect."

EASTERN DIVISION
1. Summit (Sunkist)
2. Elsinore (Sunbelt)
3. Heritage (Sunbelt)
4. Kaiser (Sunkist)
5. Citrus Hill (Mountain Pass)
6. Serrano (Mojave River)
7. Temescal Canyon (Sunbelt)
8. Victor Valley (Desert Sky)
9. Silverado (Desert Sky)
10. Apple Valley (Mojave River)
Others: Barstow (Desert Sky); San Jacinto (Mountain Pass); Oak Hills (Mojave River); Norte Vista (Sunkist); Beaumont (Mountain Pass); Tahquitz (Mountain Pass).

CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Rancho Verde (Inland Valley)
2. La Quinta/La Quinta (Desert Valley)
3. Cajon (San Andreas)
4. Palm Springs (Desert Valley)
5. Colton (San Andreas)
6. Chino (Mt. Baldy)
7. Arlington (Inland Valley)
8. Carter (San Andreas)
9. San Gorgonio (San Andreas)
10. Arroyo Valley (San Andreas)
Others: Rialto (San Andreas); Colony (Mt. Baldy); La Sierra (Inland Valley); Palm Desert (Desert Valley); Valley View (Inland Valley); Moreno Valley (Inland Valley).

INLAND DIVISION
1. Corona Centennial (Big VIII)
2. Vista Murrieta (Southwestern)
3. Upland (Baseline)
4. Redlands East Valley (Citrus Belt)
5. Rancho Cucamonga (Baseline)
6. Chino Hills (Sierra)
7. Roosevelt (Big VIII)
8. Norco (Big VIII)
9. Redlands (Citrus Belt)
10. Charter Oak (Sierra)
Others: Chaparral (Southwestern); Yucaipa (Citrus Belt); J.W. North (Big VIII); Great Oak (Southwestern); Etiwanda (Baseline); Damien (Sierra).

Football coaches around the Valle Vista League take on a certain tone when addressing Pomona High School's prospects this season. As was the case last season, the growing amout of talent at the school is aknowledged but the lack of results rings true as well.

Of course, 2011 will be just the second season at Pomona for head coach Anthony Rice, who won CIF titles at Colony in 2006 and 2007. The results in year two will be a much more revealing indicator of where the Red Devils are headed as they try to break a seven-year postseason drought.

"Our expectations are to be better than last year," Rice said. "We want to make sure we're in the running for the playoffs. I hope we've got a good shot because we've got a pretty good team."

All that seperated Ontario from the playoffs last season? One point. While the Jaguars sat at home as four of the seven teams from the Mt. Baldy League journeyed to the postseason, Montclair made its first playoff appearance in eight years. In hindsight, it was a 7-6 loss to Montclair Oct. 22 that cost the Jaguars the coveted third-place spot and a tiebreaker with Garey that prevented them from claiming the fourth and final position.

One of two new coaches in the league, Ron Stocking hopes to make up the difference. The former Alta Loma assistant coach has experience in the Mt. Baldy League having coached at Colony. But his goals don't just consist of making the postseason.

"We're trying to win the league," Stocking said. "Our goal is to have a winning season, try to get better and make the playoffs. But we're not just trying to make the playoffs."

Montclair's triumphant return to the playoffs after eight years, which would have occurred even if the number of playoff teams from the Mt. Baldy League wasn't increased to four, was achieved with a class that left the Cavaliers just five seniors this season. There is plenty of young talent waiting in the wings but it needs time to grow. Combined with first-year coach T.J. Fiorenza implementing a new system, 2011 will be a time of transition for a Montclair team hoping it grows up fast enough to make the postseason again.

"They had a good team last year and the kids want to continue that success," Fiorenza said. "I think we have the same amount of talent, it's just a matter of keeping the kids disciplined and on course, especially the young guys."

How does Garey follow a season in which it cracked the postseason for the first time since 2000? Simiple.

"Keep making it," head coach Leonard Hudson said.

In a Mt. Baldy League where each of the seven teams had a chance to make the playoffs entering the final week of the 2010 season, it's a good bet the Vikings will be in the mix again.

Garey will significant holes to fill seeing as it graduated its starting quarterback and running back in addition to receiver Dominique Williams taking his talents to Washington State. But the Vikings gain a player who would have figured heavily into the mix for a team that averaged a very respectable 28.5 points per game last season.

It's not last year's 2-8 season that has Chaffey contemplating changes to its historically grounded offense, but two additions to the team head coach Chris Brown can't help but put to use. If receivers Felix Edwards and Jamal Logan, who are returning from military school and Colony, respectively, are talented enough to convince Brown to make significant changes, they must be good.

"Jamal Logan is probably the best athlete at the school," Brown said. "Edwards is a big, fast tall kid. Today in practice we spread it out and threw it around and I can tell you those guys had a good practice. If we have those weapons, we have to use them."

Logan is a basketball star and Edwards stands 6-foot-3. There is a quarterback competiton between two juniors involving the more mobile, powerful Jacob De La Rosa and the rocket-armed Samisoni Seluini, whose mobility is severly limited.

Chino head football coach Matt McCain first said he doesn't think Quinton Pedroza and Promise Amadi can be replaced with two players. As he pondered the question further, he went a little further.

"I don't think they're replaceable at all, personally," McCain said. "Obviously when you get two kids that talented, it's tough to replace."

The duo combined for 2,400 yards and 40 touchdowns last season as Chino completed an astonishing turnaround from 0-10 to an 11-1 Mt. Baldy League champion. Pedroza, who is a freshman at Utah, was a 1,000-yard receiver and a hard-hitting safety and Amadi, a freshman at Hawaii, did just about everything. Despite losing the two headliners that led the Chino program back to prominance, the Cowboys return their starting quarterback and a 1,200-yard rusher.