Is Chino duo irreplaceable or can Cowboys repeat?
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.
Sean Molles was the quarterback that delievered the ball to a plethora of Chino playmakers as the Cowboys averaged 42.5 points per game in 2010. The 2,300-yard passer, who threw for 29 touchdowns and six interceptions last season, will be a senior as will running back Xavier Browne, who had 1,539 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns last season.
Chino returns six starters on offense, including 6-foot-3, 290-pound center Matt Pantell to anchor the offensive line, and four on a young defense. The question surrounding Chino seems to be weather last year was a fluky turnaround from 0-10 to 10-0 or did McCain only need one year to return the program to a place where it can consistently compete for league titles. To Chino's credit, the regular season wasn't where its success ended. Were it not for a 28-point fourth quarter by La Quinta in its 42-41 playoff win over Chino, the Cowboys would have reached the CIF-SS Central Division semifinals.
"It's just a positive buzz, a positive feeling around here and it continuies to get better," McCain said. "But by no means do we intend to sit back on last year's success. That was last year."
2 Comments
Leave a comment
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
Email Clay here
Chino will continue to very good on offense. The defense will be strong as there are pleanty of seniors to step in. Great coaches lead this program. It will come down to Chino and Colony for Mt Baldy title. Zero week game vs Diamond Ranch and Pomona a week later will get Chino tested early.
Go Cowboys
It is good to see you back Clay. We miss Prep Football.