Charter Oak couldn't ask for a better opportunity
The Chino Hills High School football team provides the perfect proving ground for Covina Charter Oak when the two teams meet tonight for the Sierra League championship. Charter Oak (8-1, 4-0) will have a chance to defeat the reigning power in the league, a three time defending champion that reached the semifinals of the CIF-SS Inland Division playoffs last season.
The Chargers, conversely, finished third last season and exited the playoffs in the first round via a 21-point loss. Charter Oak's first season in both the Sierra League and the Inland Division is indeed a small sample size, but that's not stopping the doubters from proclaiming that the program's success in a lower division simply won't translate.
There was ample hype when a program fresh off consecutive CIF-SS Southeast Division championships joined one of the toughest divisions in Southern California last season.
Was 2010 just a down season for Charter Oak? Was Chino Hills peaking last year? Those questions can go a long way toward being answered tonight.
"We know how much this game means to them," Chino Hills coach Derek Bub said. "We know that we're pretty talented and we've won the league championship three years in a row. We know the league championship goes through Chino Hills and we have a target on our backs."
A closer look at the Huskies season would indicate that 2011 is far from a banner year for the program, a testament to the team that finds itself a win away from a league championship. It's safe to say Chino Hills' league championship hopes were hanging by a thread before a 65-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds remaining in the Oct. 28 game against Damien gave the Huskies a 28-27 victory. Having graduated its two most accomplished players, who carried that title no matter which side of the ball they were playing on, left same gaping holes in the program that had to be filled by committee.
Meanwhile Charter Oak has routinely produced video game numbers in a bounce back season, averaging 53.7 points per game in league play. With Chino Hills' Ifo Ekpre-Olomu graduated to Oregon, Charter Oak quarterback Travis Santiago assumes the role of most dynamic player on the field in this matchup.
The senior has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,336 yards with 19 touchdowns and three interceptions not to mention rushing for 572 yards and 11 scores at a clip of more than 10 yards per carry.
"He's one of the most competitive kids I've ever seen on a football field," Bub said. "He makes things happen for their team. He's mobile, he knows how to move around in the pocket. As he goes, they go."
In Charter Oak's lone loss this season, a 21-13 defeat at the hands of a No. 5 Rancho Cucamonga team ranked one spot ahead of Charter Oak in the Inland Division, Santiago threw for 295 yards. Two of his three interceptions on the season, however, came in that game.
There likely won't be much room for error in this high-stakes game tonight. Mistake-free football, Bub said, will be the key to Chino Hills bringing home its fourth straight league championship.
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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.
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The Sierra League officially now goes through Charter Oak!