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No team in the Mt. Baldy League can claim to have been there before. Well, at least not in the last seven years.

The Colony High School boys basketball team didn't secure its seventh consecutive league championship until the regular season finale Thursday night but the Titans played like they had been there before, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 69-55 victory over Montclair.

Junior Kennieth Barnes led the Titans (19-8, 11-1) with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but it was the seniors who took over down the stretch. Senior guard Miles Poullard scored five of his 12 points during a 17-3 fourth-quarter run, including a 3-pointer to give Colony a 62-53 lead with 2:43 to play. Senior small forward Marcus Magett scored four of his seven points during the decisive run that began with Colony trailing by two nearly two minutes into the final quarter.

Yesterday neither Bryan Harper nor Robert Wagner were even sure they were going to sign national letters of intent today. But both of the Colony High School football prospects' recruiting roller coasters came to rest on national signing day as Harper, a three-star athlete, signed with Arizona and Wagner, a three-star linebacker, signed with New Mexico State, according to Colony athletic director Jaime Sandoval.

Harper, who was committed to Washington prior to the December departure of defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin, among others, chose Arizona over offers from Oregon and UCLA, where Martin was hired. Arizona offered Harper prior to the firing of Mike Stoops and the new coaching staff was the final school to enter the sweepstakes. Primarily recruited as a cornerback, Arizona is entertaining the idea of Harper playing quarterback as he did part-time at Colony.

Wagner lost both of his Pac-12 offers due to coaching changes at Arizona State and Arizona, his top choice. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, who had eight offers prior to the coaching changes, was offered by New Mexico State on Tuesday but as of this morning wasn't sure he would sign with anyone. Wagner's running mate, linebacker Eddie Martinez, will be close by after signing with Division II Western New Mexico.

After winning six consecutive league championships, the Colony boys basketball team seeks motivation anywhere it can find it. After a 67-61 defeat of Don Lugo Friday night, the Titans are running out of scores to settle.

Colony has lost two league games in the last seven seasons. Don Lugo's two-point victory three weeks ago was the most recent. The other was a three-point loss to Montclair last season, which Colony avenged with a 31-point thrashing last week.

The Titans (15-6, 7-1) are now tied with Montclair atop the Mt. Baldy League standings with five games remaining in the regular season, the final of which is a Feb. 9 showdown at home against Montclair.

Don Lugo High School head football coach Rick Martin resigned Thursday after four years at the helm. Martin will remain a physical education teacher at the school for which he has coached the last 13 years, but cited the desire to spend more time with his three young children.

"When I took over the program four years ago I made a commitment to see the freshman class through to their senior year," Martin said. "I did that and now it's time for me to coach my own kids at home."

Martin's final season landed Don Lugo in the playoffs for the second time in the last three years, but ended in rocky fashion. Martin was placed on administrative leave following a non-football related tussle with a student on Oct. 20, multiple sources confirmed to the Daily Bulletin. After an investigation by the Chino Valley School District was completed over a 10-day period, Martin resumed coaching and teaching following the short time of leave, according to district director of communications Julie Gobin.

Longtime Garey baseball coach Monse Estrada was hired to be the head coach at Western Christian on Jan. 17. Estrada spent the first 39 years of his coaching career at Garey before being asked to leave after last season. Estrada takes over a Western Christian program that won three consecutive league titles prior to last season's sixth-place finish in the Ambassador League.

"I think we're pretty well in the top of the league," Estrada said. "These kids go hard for two and a half hours of practice. They're dedicated. That's all you can ask for."

Estrada brings plenty of success and an abundance of experience to Western Christian. He had opportunities to be an assistant coach but wanted to hold out for a head coaching job.

"With his philosophy and ours, it was yes, yes, yes all the way down the checklist," Western Christian athletic director Nick Karavedas said. "He has the knowledge of how to build a program but the patience and maturity to help us through a bit of a rebuilding phase."

Turns out the end of its 59-game league winning streak didn't sit well with the Colony High School basketball team.

Montclair, the team that snapped the Titans' run last season, felt the backlash Friday night when Colony handed it an 88-57 loss to ruin the Cavaliers' perfect Mt. Baldy League record this season. Colony, which won its sixth consecutive league title last year despite the three-point loss at Montclair Feb. 7, was in the unfamiliar position of chasing the league leader this season. Not anymore.

"A lot of these guys were very upset about losing that game last year," Colony coach Jerry De Fabiis said. "They wanted to come back and prove that we're still the team to beat in this league. When we play like we did tonight, we feel like we can beat anybody in the area."

Offensive Players of the Year:
Carlos Hernandez, Rancho Verde, 12, QB; Dane Tiedeman, Palm Springs, 12, QB.
Defensive Players of the Year:
Blair Brown, Rancho Verde, 12, LB; Kyle Lass, Palm Springs, 12, LB.
Coach of the Year:
Pete Duffy, Rancho Verde

OFFENSE
Running back:
Jeremiah Talia, Moreno Valley,12
Gaylon Maxie, Carter, 12
Xavier Browne, Chino, 12
Tim Santa Maria, Palm Desert, 12
Jamie Snowten, San Gorgonio, 12
Quarterback:
Carlos Hernandez, Rancho Verde, 12
Dane Tiedeman, Palm Springs, 12
Monroe Offield, San Gorgonio, 12

Tuesday night was a rare home game for the La Verne Lutheran High School basketball team. In fact, due to the Trojans' national schedule, its 75-45 defeat of Montclair was just the third time this season they played a team from the Inland Valley.

Having compiled a 9-4 record against teams from South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and all parts of California, welcoming an undefeated Montclair team to its gym didn't faze the two-time defending state champions.

Arizona signee Grant Jerrett scored all 25 of his points in the first three quarters and the 6-foot-10 power forward added 14 rebounds and six blocks as the Trojans (10-4) built a double-digit lead in the first quarter, led by 21 at the half and 30 less than three minutes into the third quarter.

"They're as good as anyone in this area and we scheduled them for that reason," Montclair coach Bill Blades said. "I know these guys are technically in a lower division, but they play all the teams from our division. We've got to learn from a loss like this."

Defensive MVP: Eddie Martinez, 12, Colony, Linebacker
Offensive MVP: Matt Simko, 11, Colony, Quarterback
Lineman MVP: Isaiah Aneke, 12, Colony, OL/DL

FIRST TEAM
Darius McCants, 12, Colony, Defensive Back
Matthew Tesimale, 12, Colony, Linebacker
Chaz Nelson, 12, Colony, Defensive Back
Bryan Harper, 12, Colony, Defensive back
Ivan Renderos, 11, Colony, Defensive Line
Hakiteli Tuivai, 10, Colony, Offensive Line
Marcus Williams, 10, Colony, Wide Receiver
Samajie Grant, 11, Colony, Wide Receiver
Matt Mendoza , 12, Colony, Offensive Line
Justin Cooke, 11, Colony, Quarterback

The Baseline League has experienced an intraleague CIF championship game twice in the last three years. Of course, both of those occurrences were in a Central Division devoid of Corona Centennial and Vista Murrieta, among others.

This season, Baseline League champion Upland and second-place Rancho Cucamonga, whose only loss this season came to Upland, find themselves one win away from playing each other for a title in the Inland Division.

Third-seeded Upland, which demolished Sierra League champion Charter Oak, 51-13, in the quarterfinals, faces off with No. 2 seed Vista Murrieta on Friday. Rancho Cucamonga, which took Vista Murrieta to double overtime in last year's semifinal, faces top-seeded Corona Centennial in the other semifinal following a 9-6 defeat of fourth-seeded Redlands East Valley.

Don Lugo head football coach Rick Martin was placed on administrative leave after a non-football related tussle with a student in physical education class on Oct. 20, multiple sources confirmed to the Daily Bulletin.

Assistant coach Ernie Vasquez is the interim coach, according to Chino Valley Unified School District director of communication Julie Gobin. Vasquez took over prior to the Conquistadores' 31-9 victory over Ontario on Oct. 21. It is unknown when or if Martin will return to the Don Lugo sidelines or to his teaching job at the school.

The rematch of last year's Mt. Baldy League championship game appears to be for the same stakes. Both Colony (7-1, 4-0), the No. 6 team in the CIF-SS Central Division, and fourth-ranked defending league champion Chino (6-1, 3-0) are yet to lose a league game.

Suspension of disbelief: There is never a good time to lose players to suspension but this is easily the worst time of the season for Chino to have lost 16 players to a one-game suspension, including four starters after an altercation during last week's 58-6 win over Garey. Among those not suspended for leaving the bench area are tailback Xavier Browne and quarterback Sean Molles, Chino coach Matt McCain confirmed.

"We're not going to make excuses," McCain said. "We're down a few starters but we're going to go out there and do our best. This gives some guys a chance to step up."

Ten Garey football players were suspended after an altercation before halftime of last Friday's 58-6 loss to Chino, leaving the team without enough players to field a team for tonight's homecoming game against Don Lugo. Sixteen of Chino's players were suspended but the Cowboys will play their game at Colony Friday night.

The Garey freshman team will play the Don Lugo freshman team tonight in place of the varsity game seeing as the 27-man varsity roster is depleted by 10 suspensions, most of which are due to players leaving the bench area, and four players unavailable due to injury.

"It was a little chippy but not that bad," Garey coach Leonard Hudson said. "Two kids ended up going at it and it ended up getting pretty ugly. Then it was just inexperience for the guys who left the bench. I don' t think they had played enough football to know not to do that.

"We just don't have enough this week, not to be competitive at least. I'm not going to put those kids in jeopardy and get somebody else hurt."

A season after making the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, Garey has fallen upon hard times. The Vikings are winless this year, numbers in the program have dropped and Hudson is not pleased with the level of support for the football program from the Garey administration.

"It's been a battle all year long and we haven't gotten any support from the administration," Hudson said. "You look at a school like Pomona. We all have the same budget problems but even they are able to do things that we're not able to do."

A "pushing match" at the end of the second quarter of Chino's 58-6 win over Garey on Friday led to several Chino players leaving the bench area, which is a violation of CIF rules and resulted in the suspension of 16 players including four starters for the upcoming game with Colony for first place in the Mt. Baldy League. Chino head football coach Matt McCain declined to name the players suspended but confirmed neither tailback Xavier Browne, who has rushed for 1,100 yards, nor quarterback Sean Molles were among those suspended.

"There were three minutes left in the second quarter and we had our substitutes in," McCain said. "One of our guys got in a pushing match with one of theirs and some more guys joined in. Some players left the bench area and that's against CIF rules. We continued to play after that without incident and shook hands afterwards."

Matt Bechtel can recall the date without hesitation, yet another thing that hasn't changed since the beginning of high school football season.

Oct. 28, the Colony High School football coach said, is when he expects the Mt. Baldy League race to be decided. That happens to be when defending league champion Chino pays a visit to Colony.

Chino and Colony entered the season as the league favorites. As league play begins tonight, nothing has changed.

"Chino is the defending league champion so they've got to be the team to beat," Bechtel said. "We're pleased with where we are and honestly I think we'll play Chino for the league championship."

The Diamond Ranch High School football team took efficiency to unprecedented levels Thursday night. Without a single possession in the game's first 19 minutes, the Panthers managed to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish in a 29-6 victory over Chaffey.

Recovering an errant punt snap in Chaffey's end zone was the only positive play for Diamond Ranch (1-3) of the game's first 32. Having taken the field for the first time with 3:39 left in the first half, its safe to say the Panthers offense will be well rested heading into its Hacienda League opener against Bonita.

Diamond Ranch secured its first win of the season at the expense of a Chaffey that has lost three strait asit heads into Mt. Baldy League play next week.

"They're a good football team who could have beaten Damien, could have beaten Elsinore last week," Chaffey coach Chris Brown said of Diamond Ranch, which has lost its last two games by seven points. "But our offense was good tonight. We were able to control the ball a little bit."

The Damien and Chaffey High School football teams both played a diverse lineup Thursday night in an effort to evaluate talent early in the season. They just did it under entirely different circumstances.

Damien scored on each of its eight possessions in a 52-6 win at Chaffey that featured touchdowns by five different players and scoring passes by two different quarterbacks. More importantly, a Spartans team head coach Greg Gano labeled the best of his three-year tenure before the season played the way he would have liked a week ago in a season-opening 13-6 win over Diamond Ranch.

"We needed to put somebody away because they weren't sure of themselves," Gano said. "We needed to play tougher going into next week."

Thursday night prep football scores
NONLEAGUE
Colony 14, Ayala 9
San Dimas 41, Azusa 16
Rubidoux 46, Ontario 27

Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/ Staff Photographer
Ayala's Jared McNeely, center, is tackled by Colony defense during the Titans' 14-9 victory Thursday night.

ONTARIO - The irony wasn't lost on anybody.

Colony turned the ball over seven times Thursday night. With Ayala driving for its second touchdown of the last six minutes - and of the game - it was a turnover Colony received that sealed the Titans' 14-9 victory over the Bulldogs.

"This was the ugliest football game you'll ever witness on any level," Bechtel said. "We preach the little things. We preach ball security. And none of that happened."

Colony (2-0) fumbled a grand total of nine times. It lost six of them in addition to a muffed punt that led to Ayala's only points until the game's final seven minutes.

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."

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.

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.

Colony cornerback Bryan Harper picked up four scholarship offers in the past week alone. The senior was issued offers by Arizona, UCLA, Washington and Colorado last week, according to Colony head coach Matt Bechtel, giving the 6-foot, 180-pound transfer from Carter a total of nine offers.

Arizona State made Harper his first offer on May 29, but the rising senior's recruitment has since fast gained momentum. His other offers include Colorado State, Montana and New Mexico State.

Colony teammate Robert Wagner has added an offer from UTEP to give the rising senior linebacker a total of six. Arizona offered the 6-foot-2, 215-pound inside backer his first scholarship on March 9 and shortly afterward he was extended offers by Arizona State, Utah State and San Jose State.

Ontario High School hired new head football and baseball coaches that were approved by the school board on Tuesday.

Ronald Stocking Jr. will take over the football program after two seasons as the linebackers coach and assistant head coach at Alta Loma High School. Gregg Givens, a longtime teacher at Ontario and former assistant baseball coach for the Jaguars under Bob Beck, will assume control of the baseball program after the resignation of head coach Mike Sweeney.

Former Ontario head football coach Steve Randall, who resigned following last season, bequeaths a program to Stocking that the new coach is very familiar with seeing as Stocking was an assistant coach for five seasons at Colony High School, a fellow member of the Mt. Baldy League.

MVP: AARON BERNAL, COLONY, JR., P/1B

FIRST TEAM
SHAWN SWEENEY, COLONY, JR.
MARK BRUN, COLONY, SR.
KYLE ZOSKY, COLONY, JR.
J.J. FRANKLIN, CHINO, SR.
JACOB ANDERSON, CHINO, SR.
ALEC CORDOVA, CHINO, SR.
MICHAEL JOHNSON, DON LUGO, SR.
NATHAN VIRGEN, DON LUGO, JR.
ANTHONY VIRGEN, DON LUGO, JR.
BRETT EARLY, DON LUGO, JR.
DILLON GRAP, DON LUGO, JR.
ANDY PEREZ, MONTCLAIR, SR.
DAVID ROMAN, MONTCLAIR, SO.
EDUARDO GONZALES, ONTARIO, SR.
ANGEL BOJORQUEZ, CHAFFEY, SR.

MVP: BELINA RENNE, DON LUGO, JR., P/1B

FIRST TEAM
JESSICA GUILLEN, DON LUGO , SR.
MARINA DURAN, DON LUGO, FR.
KAILEY PALAZZOLO, DON LUGO, FR.
KYLIE PADILLA, DON LUGO, SO.
BRIANNA MURILLO, DON LUGO, JR.
ABRE LANDEROS, CHINO, SR.
LEIA RUIZ, CHINO, JR.
CELYNA LUJAN, CHINO, JR.
ALYSSA CORDOVA, CHINO, JR.
JORDON SAUCEDO, COLONY, SR.
NICOLE PIRES, COLONY, SR.
BRE LOCKETT, COLONY, SR.
CRYSTAL MUNOZ, GAREY, SR.
CELINA FELIX, MONTCLAIR, JR.
MELINA PRECIADO, ONTARIO
CRISTINA ALARCON, CHAFFEY, JR.

If only Don Lugo High School's pristine new athletic complex included an outfield fence for the softball field.

Each of the runs allowed by the Division 2 No. 1 seed in Tuesday's second-round playoff game were the result of hits that got past the outfielders and kept on rolling, including a two-run miscue in the seventh inning of Don Lugo's 3-2 loss to Long Beach Wilson.

After a home run in the first inning, Wilson (16-13) didn't score until Unique Whitehurst's single got past Don Lugo right fielder Katie Alamprese in the seventh inning, allowing both Whitehurst and Hannah Duarte to score on the play and erase the 2-1 lead Don Lugo held since the second inning.

Given the delay of its first-round playoff game until Friday, the Mt. Baldy League champion Colony baseball team had to wait while the two teams that finished behind it in league opened the postseason with victories by nine and seven runs.

The Titans responded with their own offensive outburst in a 13-5 win over Summit that advanced Colony to a second round game against Freeway champion Sonora on Tuesday.
Freshman first baseman Leo Hernandez was 3 for 3 with five RBIs and a pair of runs scored, including two hits and four RBIs in a nine-run fourth inning.

"In the fourth we just got locked in," Colony coach Tom Keller said. "We kind of got right mentally and started cutting the ball in half, hitting a lot of line drives."

Don Lugo High School graduate Luis Zendejas, a former NFL kicker who works in the Arizona Cardinals front office, is holding a free camp on Saturday at Don Lugo for youths ages 8-18, according to Don Lugo head football coach Rick Martin. Professional kickers, holders and punters will offer instruction from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. It is the first in what Zendejas intends to be a yearly event. Campers will need to sign a waiver upon arrival to the event but it is free to participate.

The 49-year-old Zendejas left Arizona State in 1987 as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history; his record has since been broken. He kicked for the Dallas Cowboys for two years and the Philadelphia Eagles for a season and later spent four years with the Arena Football League's Arizona Rattlers.

Montclair head football coach Rick Ward resigned his position after three years at the helm, according to Montclair athletic director Bill Blades. Ward, who led the Cavaliers to their first playoff berth in eight years in his final season, stepped down April 16.

After consecutive 3-7 seasons, the Cavaliers went 5-6 last year, finishing third in the Mt. Baldy League.

"We really liked the direction the program was headed under Rick," Blades said. "It's unfortunate we have to find somebody else but we'll try to get somebody in here to keep it going the right direction."

With the resignation of Ward and Ontario's Steve Randall since the end of the season, the Mt. Baldy League will feature two new coaches next year.

There was plenty of drama at Thursday's Mt. Baldy League track meet. It just so happened it was contained to one team.

Much of the time Colony was racing against itself while finishing first and second in nine of the 18 running events and sweeping all four relays. The Titans' girls team that is ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division 2 claimed the top two places in seven of eight running events and the top three in three of those events.

"This is the best female team I've had, period," Colony coach Jaime Sandoval said. "That includes some of the teams I had that finished second and third in CIF. It's got such depth and they do it every week. The consistency is phenomenal."

If the Colony High School baseball team had to pick one opponent to have the number of, Chino would be a prime candidate. Though Chino entered Tuesday with a 21-4 record, Colony defeated the Cowboys for the second time this season in as many meetings, the Titans' 8-3 victory pulling them into a tie for first place in the Mt. Baldy League with Chino.

Though Colony (16-6, 8-2) has played in the shadow of league foes Chino (21-5, 7-2) and Don Lugo, which defeated Colony 17-2 a month ago, the Titans now find themselves in the driver's seat to secure the league's No. 1 seed in the playoffs with two games remaining in the regular season.

"It's a big win, but like I just told my kids, we've still got work to do," Colony coach Tom Keller said. "Nobody is going to roll over for us, and the two games we have left are just as important as the one we just played."

The difference Tuesday afternoon for the Don Lugo High School softball team was that it scored its typically large number of runs out of necessity. In a battle of top-five teams in CIF-SS Division 2, a Don Lugo team that entered averaging more than nine runs opposite an allowance of less than two runs per game found itself leading Chino just by just one run after five innings.

Conquistadores catcher Brianna Murillo provided a clutch three-run home run in the sixth, though, to help No. 4 Don Lugo hit its average and secure a 10-6 victory over Mt. Baldy League foe Chino.

"The home run was huge," Don Lugo coach Ray Sheffield said. "(Chino) hit better than I thought they would. We've scored 175 runs but only allowed 33, but they made us make the plays."

It'll be an all-Inland Valley affair for the championship game of the Jurupa Valley Tournament in softball on Saturday night as Etiwanda will face Chino. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Big League Dreams in Mira Loma.
On Thursday, Etiwanda (6-0) routed Corona Santiago 13-4 in a semifinal game that was limited to four innings because of the time limit.
Alyssa Calderon was 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, while Missy Taukieaho went 2-for-2 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs for Etiwanda. Taukieaho (3-0) also got the win as a pitcher, allowing four runs on five hits.
Etiwanda led 2-1 after an inning, but the Eagles erupted for seven runs in the top of the second to take control.

Colony linebacker Robert Wagner received a scholarship offer on Wednesday from Arizona, the first offer for the junior, according to Colony head football coach Matt Bechtel. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound inside linebacker collected 64 tackles, two sacks and an interception last season for the Titans. Wagner also had seven receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown as a tight end but the junior is being recruited to play defense in college.

"He'll probably get several more offers," Bechtel said. "Washington is interested and so is USC."

Aside from Devon Blackmon, the Summit High School receiver who signed with Oregon Wednesday morning, USC and UCLA took their time making inroads to the Inland Valley.
USC waited until precisely 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, UCLA three days before national signing day.

When Chino head football coach Matt McCain fielded a call from USC head coach Lane Kiffin early this morning it only added to the burden on Quinton Pedroza's mind. After his first and only season of high school football, the senior receiver/safety who had just spent the last three weeks mulling over offers from Utah and Arizona State had one more school to ponder when USC offered him two and a half hours before Chino's 10:30 a.m. signing ceremony Wednesday.

"I think he was already overwhelmed," McCain said. "It was a lot of stress when they came on board and I think it was just too late. thought it was a big deal but it didn't have the effect on him I thought it would. You had Utah waiting for their letter of intent and he was racing against the clock."

Pedroza, who committed to Arizona State Jan. 8 before Utah offered him a scholarship Jan. 11, had already donemore thinking than he ever bargained for. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound senoir signed with Utah, at 10:30.

Chino wide receiver/safety Quinton Pedroza, who verbally committed to Arizona State Jan. 8, took an official visit last weekend to Utah, which offered him a scholarship three days after his commitment to Arizona State. Pedroza will visit Arizona State this coming weekend but he may soon have another school to consider.

USC has expressed interest in the 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior, going so far as to request Pedroza's transcripts today, according to Chino head football coach Matt McCain. USC is interested in Pedroza as a safety, where he collected 67 tackles and four interceptions in the fall during his first and only season of high school football. ASU is open to him playing receiver, where he had 54 receptions for 1,078 yards and 16 TDs.

"It could be that he'll visit Arizona State this weekend and that'll be the end of it," McCain said. "But you never know what a kid is going to say when somebody like USC gets involved."

Promise Amadi verbally committed to the University of Hawaii during his trip to Manoa, Hawaii this past weekend, according to Chino head coach Matt McCain. The 6-foot, 180-pound senior issued a verbal commitment to New Mexico State during his visit to Las Cruces N.M., the weekend previous to his official visit to Hawaii.

"What happed was the coaches (at New Mexico State) told him it was okay if he just wanted to give them a soft commitment," McCain said. "So he said OK."

Amadi, who also had offers from Montana and Sacramento State, was also receiving interest from Arizona State as of Thursday. ASU is recruiting Amadi as a cornerback but Hawaii will allow him to play his preferred position of receiver.

"He said he had a great time in Hawaii and that's where he wants to go," McCain said. "He really enjoyed the coaches and they said he'd have a good chance to start as a freshman."

After his first and only year of high school football, Chino wide receiver/safety Quinton Pedroza verbally committed to Arizona State Saturday after a late flurry of scholarship offers. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior, who previously focused his efforts on baseball, received the offer from Utah two days after committing to Arizona State.

"I'm gonna have to look into both (schools) a little further," Pedroza said. "This whole thing is a blessing. I wasn't too sure it would go this way after one season but it's been a shock. It's all still surreal."

Though he prefers receiver, it hasn't been determined if Pedroza will play offense or defense in college after a senior season consisting of 54 receptions for 1,078 yards and 19 total touchdowns in addition to 67 tackles and four interceptions as a free safety. The decision was initially between Utah State and Arizona State, but after committing to the Sun Devils on Saturday, Utah offered him on Tuesday.

MT BALDY ALL LEAGUE
FOOTBALL
2010
MVP QUINTON PEDROZA CHINO
MVP PROMISE AMADI CHINO
MVP BRANDON ACID COLONY

FIRST TEAM
NAME SCHOOL GRADE
JESUS CORTEZ CHAFFEY 12
JONATHAN LIRA CHAFFEY 12
HECTOR OCHOA ONTARIO 12
CHRISTIAN SALCEDO ONTARIO 12
CHARLIE COOPER ONTARIO 12
JOSEPH DAVIS ONTARIO 12
MILTON WILLIAMS DON LUGO 11
BLAKE CONCHAS DON LUGO 12
RUDOLFO CONCHAS DON LUGO 12
DIMITRI MELENDEZ DON LUGO 12
DOMINIQUE WILLIAMS GAREY 12
ROBERT FARLEY GAREY 12
SOTHIA BUN GAREY 12
ERNIE VILLA GAREY 12
RUDY AGUILAR MONTCLAIR 12
ADRIAN MILES MONTCLAIR 12
MARTIN GONZALEZ MONTCLAIR 12
JAREN CYRUS MONTCLAIR 12
ULYSSES COURET MONTCLAIR 12
EDDIE MARTINEZ COLONY 11
ROBERT WAGNER COLONY 11
RECO WEST COLONY 12
CHAZ NELSON COLONY 11
DJ KNIGHT COLONY 12
ANDREW TIBBS COLONY 12
RAEDELL FLOYD COLONY 12
XAVIER BROWNE CHINO
SEAN MOLLES CHINO
TYLER BURNS CHINO
MATTHEW PANTELL CHINO
COLE CASTANEDA CHINO
ISAIAH BRENES CHINO
RONNIE VALDIVIA CHINO
RONNIE VELARDE CHINO
ANTHONY ADAMO CHINO
RAYMOND BONANNI CHINO

Garey wide receiver Dominique Williams has not verbally committed to Washington State as reported by rivals.com and scout.com, according to Garey head football coach Leonard Hudson. The 6-foot-4 senior is strongly considering Washington State after his initial recruiting trip to Pullman Wash., in early October but Utah and Fresno State are also high on his list, according to Hudson.

"Those three are the ones we talked about a few days ago," Husdon said. "Nebraska came in but I don't know if he wants to go there. There are some other Big 12 schools he's interested in and some Pac-10s too so he's playing the waiting game a little bit."

Williams was hampered the last half of the season by a an strained plantar fascia, a tendon that runs under the ball of his foot, but still managed 18 touchdowns in leading Garey to its first playoff appearance in 10 years. After a junior season in which he had 45 receptions for 1,213 yards and 10 touchdowns, Williams began pulling in enough scholarship offers that Hudson has lost count.

I'm here in Fresno for the CIF State Cross Country Championships, and it's cold. It'll be down close to freezing tonight, and the high tomorrow is only expected to get to the low 50s. At least rain isn't expected to move into the area until late afternoon, after the final race.
Check back here on this blog during the morning and early afternoon Saturday for updates on Inland Valley competitors: Ayala's girls team, Bonita's Marissa Scott, Claremont's boys team, Colony's Xochitl Navarrete and Nick Valenzuela, Rancho Cucamonga's boys team and Webb's Bailey Stockdale.

The races begin at 8:30 a.m., but the first race with an Inland Valley runner is Race 3 at 9:30 a.m., the girls Division 3, with Marissa Scott
--Pete Marshall

For those who wonder if they run cross country in the rain, the answer is definitely yes.
The CIF-SS Finals were held as scheduled, but on the rain course at Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday.

Three Inland Valley teams qualified for state by finishing in the top seven in their race: Rancho Cucamonga boys in Division 1, Claremont boys in Division 2 and Ayala girls in Division 2.
In addition, Colony's Xochitl Navarrete (girls Division 2) and Nick Valenzuela (boys Division 2), Bonita's Marissa Scott (girls Division 3) and Webb's Bailey Stockdale (boys Division 5) all qualified for the state meet as individuals, which is next Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.

First round
Rancho Verde over Garey
San Gorgonio over Palm Desert
Chino over Carter
La Quinta over Valley View
Riverside Arlington over Montclair
Cajon over Coachella Valley
Colton over Colony
Palm Springs over La Sierra

Quarterfinals
Rancho Verde over San Gorgonio
Chino over La Quinta
Riverside Arlington over Cajon
Palm Springs over Colton

"There are like eight different scenarios," Chaffey football coach Chris Brown said of the postseason situation in the Mt. Baldy League. To illustrate the range of playoff possibilities, every team in the league including a Chaffey team in sole possession of last place, can still make the postseason.

Considering two teams have already clinched their playoff spots, the myriad possibilities in the league are simply limited to two postseason berths. Anytime five teams have the potential to finish with the same leage record, something unique is going on and that is exactly the case with one week remaining in Mt. Baldy League play, beginning Wednesday with two of the league's final three games.

Chino has clinched the top playoff seed and can win the outright league title with a win over Don Lugo Friday. Colony has clinched second-place and the accompanying playoff berth. Montclair and Ontario still control their own destiny but there is a scenario for the final two playoff berths that could leave the bottom five teams all with 2-4 league records necessitating a coin flip to break the tie.

If you love cross country -- and I'm sure there are many of you who do - Mt. San Antonio College is the place to be the next two Saturdays, Nov. 13 and 20.
The CIF-SS released the heat sheets for the CIF Prelims Nov. 13. In all, there will be 33 races, beginning at 7:45 a.m. and the last one beginning at 4:05 p.m. There will be an Inland Valley team or individual competing in 25 of 33 races. It was also announced Saturday that the Webb and Western Christian boys teams were picked as at-large entries for Division 5.

Here are some races to keep an eye on:
Race 18, Girls Division 2, 11:35 a.m.
Although it's Ayala with the much stronger team, it's notable that the Bulldogs will be running against Chino Valley district rival Don Lugo.
Race 21, Girls Division 3, 1:22 p.m.
Bonita, a young and up-and-coming team, will be facing the top team in San Bernardino County, Granite Hills.
Race 26, Boys Division 1, 2:33 p.m.
This one has four Inland Valley teams (Chaffey, Diamond Bar, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland) plus another individual (Christian Navarro of Los Osos). Rancho Cucamonga is the class of this group.
Race 31, Girls Division 1, 3:38 p.m.
Baseline League champion Rancho Cucamonga is in this race, as is Baseline third-place team Los Osos. Redlands, the Citrus Belt League champion, will be one of the teams battling with Rancho Cucamonga for a spot in the finals.
Race 33, Girls Division 1, 4:05 p.m.
Similar to Race 18. Chino and Chino Hills, two teams from the Chino Valley district who are not in the same league, will be facing each other in this race.

Thomas Cordova/Staff Photographer
Chino High School running back Xavier Browne (5) rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 62-yard TD pass.

The Chino High School football team's record included a zero at this time last year, but on the opposite side of the dash.

After a winless 2009, the Cowboys' improbable run continued Friday night with a 49-20 win over a Colony team that has won the Mt. Baldy League championship three of the last four years.

A Chino team that finished last in the Sierra League last season likely has cleared its biggest hurdle on the way to the Mt. Baldy League championship. And with three games left in the regular season, the Cowboys (7-0, 3-0) may have paved the way to go from 0-10 to 10-0.

When Chino hosts Colony tonight, it won't technically be the Mt. Baldy League championship game considering there are two games left in the season, but this battle between undefeated Chino and a Colony team that has won three of the last four league championships has significant implications.

Last year is long gone: You would never know Chino went 0-10 last year by the way the Cowboys (6-0, 2-0) are playing this season. After scoring 84 points all of last season, Chino has eclipsed the 40-point mark in each of its games this year, achieving an average margin of victory of 28.4 points.

The Ontario High School football team used to reward players for good games with helmet stickers. But that was eliminated this year as the Jaguars entered the 2010 season trying to reverse a nine-game losing streak.

"We don't do that anymore. We just play with the `O' on our helmets," Ontario coach Steve Randall said. "We had to make a lot of changes after last year."

The 'O' is the only thing associated with Ontario resembling a zero, though many anticipated one occupying the victory column for some time. The Jaguars were expected to struggle again this season. Their only victory last season came in the opener against a La Verne Lutheran team playing 11-man football for the first time. La Verne Lutheran abandoned its varsity schedule two games after Ontario's seven-point victory.

For the first time since 2003, Ontario downed Chaffey to capture the Cat Bowl.
It started with an 88-yard kickoff return touchdown by Joseph Davis and went on to be a 38-14 dominating victory on Thursday night.
The last time Ontario downed Chaffey to capture the Cat Bowl trophy it was Week 9 in 2003 and the Jaguars won 21-20 in overtime, also at Chaffey High. That year, Ontario's win enabled the Jaguars to finish the regular season in a three-way tie for the Mt. Baldy League title with Chaffey and Don Lugo.
That year, there was only one more week left in the regular season. This year, in the expanded seven-team league, this was just the league opener for Ontario. Garey (Week 8), Chino (Week 9) and Colony (Week 10) appear to be the biggest hurdles for the Jaguars to earn their first league title since -- you guessed it -- 2003.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
Garey running back Sothia Bun (6) is brought down by Montclair's Rudy Aguilar during the first quarter of Garey's 49-10 win Thursday night in its Mt. Baldy League opener. Bun rushed for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 16 carries.

Based on what he had to say afterward, Montclair's Rick Ward can't be accused of taking Garey lightly in Thursday night's Mt. Baldy League opener. After the Vikings rolled up 42 first-half points in a 49-10 win over Montclair at Ganesha High, the Cavaliers head football coach more than included Garey in the conversation of Mt. Baldy League champion.

"A lot of people are going to see them coming in with 'Vikings' on the front of their jerseys and take them lightly," Ward said, "when they might be the best team in this league."

The Mt. Baldy League has officially been turned upside down when the team that carried an 18-game losing streak into this season is considered a contender for the league title. On the eve of league play, though, Chino has made that the case.

Colony, which has won the league three of the last four years, began its season 0-2 under first- year coach Matt Bechtel. Chino, meanwhile, has not only won its first three games but is averaging a 30-point margin of victory. Chaffey, thought to be the league favorite at the season's outset, has not only lost three of its first four games but is averaging a 19-point margin of defeat.

"I think the preseason records are not indicative of who's going to be at the top of this league," said Bechtel, who took over at Colony after seven years as the Los Osos offensive coordinator. "The caliber of opponents has been different for everybody so far."

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
Diamond Ranch's Jacoby Carter breaks a 50-yard run in the first quarter of the Panthers' 21-14 win over Chaffey Thursday.

Chaffey held the ball an astounding 36 minutes and 17 seconds Thursday night - there are only 48 minutes in a game. If only the Tigers could've held a lead.

Diamond Ranch possessed the ball for 4:08 of the 24 minutes in the second half but walked away with its first win of the season, a 21-14 victory at Chaffey High School. Diamond Ranch (1-3) ran nearly half the amount of offensive plays as Chaffey (1-3), but when the Panthers did have the ball they were successful, evidenced by three first-half touchdowns in five possessions and a 21-8 halftime lead.

"We felt like we could score at any time," Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton said. "Chaffey is good at what they do; they've been doing it for lots of years. But they were running out of time in the second half."

Garey High School wide receiver Dominique Williams had a week anyone would have trouble duplicating. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior scored three touchdowns before the Vikings even ran a play from scrimmage... yes, you read that correctly.

He began with a 99-yard kickoff return and returned the first two punts 55 and 80 yards for scores in Garey's 49-0 thrashing of Duarte that gave the Vikings two wins in their first three games. Williams didn't play in the second half but he found the endzone a total of five times in the first three quarters thanks to a 46-yard touchdown reception and a an 8-yard touchdown run.

Entering the season, Williams had scholarship offers from Boise State, Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, San Diego State and Colorado State, according to Garey head coach Leonard Hudson. It's dafe to say games like this aren't going to turn anybody away.

If somebody would have told me that two games into football season, Chino would be the only undefeated team in the Mt. Baldy League I probably would have stopped listening. However, the same team that went winless last season is now 2-0 (and that record hardly does justice to what Chino has done so far).

After last night's resounding victory over Oak Park, the Cowboys have hung 42 and 49 points on their 2010 opponents. Not a bad way to break an 18-game losing streak. A logical question: what is the caliber of the two teams Chino has faced? Whittier, a 42-0 victim of the Cowboys Week 1, last made the playoffs in 2006 but it was Chino on the business end of a 35-13 blowout when these two met last year. Whittier went 5-5 in 2009, including two wins over playoff teams, one of which was a 10-2 L.A. Roosevelt team.

The over-under on total passes thrown in Friday night's game could be in the single digits. That means lots of smash-mouth football is in store for Colton (0-0) and Chaffey (1-0), two contenders for the CIF-SS Central Division title.

Playoff preview?: Each of these teams' 2009 seasons ended courtesy of tight quarterfinal playoff games against Baseline League teams no longer in the Central Division, meaning tonight may not be the only time Colton and Chaffey play this season.

On its way to a San Andreas League title and No. 1 playoff seed, Colton defeated Chaffey, the Mt. Baldy League's second-place finisher, 35-12 in a Week 4 matchup last season.

The Los Osos High School football team's season began about 22 minutes after Colony's on Friday night. Once the Grizzlies' season got rolling, it couldn't be stopped. Late in the first half, Kalaukoa Labonta returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown to give Los Osos the lead for good in a 20-7 victory over the Grizzlies' former offensive coordinator Matt Bechtel in his first game as Colony's head coach.

Until the 2:18 mark of the second quarter Colony had outgained Los Osos 149 yards to 56, numbers reflected in the game's momentum as the Titans marched 42 yards after taking over on their own 1-yard line. Everything changed on the sixth play of the drive when a wide receiver screen pass from quarterback Dominick Barnett, who rushed for 137 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, slipped through the fingers of Chaz Nelson and into the waiting arms of Labonta.

"We knew that was one of the plays (Bechtel) liked to run, so our defensive coordinator had a little something for him," Los Osos coach Tom Martinez said. "That play turned the whole game around."

Both of these teams have plenty to prove, but that is hardly the most interesting dynamic of a season opener that pits new Colony head coach Matt Bechtel, the Los Osos offensive coordinator for seven years, against his former team and coaching staff.

It's not practice anymore: Matt Bechtel and Kevin Price have done battle on the Los Osos practice field "probably a million times in seven years," but tonight the chess match has a much different feel. Los Osos is coming off the school's first appearance in a CIF championship game -- the Grizzlies lost 19-7 to Upland on Dec. 11 -- but returns just seven starters. Colony, which retained only two starters from last season, is eager to kick off the Bechtel era and prove there won't be a drop-off from the successful teams in Colony's recent history.

Summit 42, Etiwanda 35
Despite Etiwanda junior Larry Cutbirth passing for 339 yards and three TDs, Summit escaped Etiwanda Thursday night when Summit super recruit Devon Blackmon nabbed Cutbirth's third interception at the 2-yard line as time expired. A dramatic finish included a fourth-down touchdown catch by the Eagles' Mike Sena (9 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TDs) with 41 seconds left before Etiwanda recovered an onsides kick. Summit piled up 353 rushing yards and ran for five touchdowns. Running back Montigo Alford led a balanced effort with 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 30 carries.

Ganesha 31, Montclair 12
As evidenced by the state-record 49-game losing streak it mercifully ended in 2008, Ganesha has been on the wrong side of its share of blowouts. Thursday night the Giants were on the right side of a lopsided score as quarterback Terry Francis rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. The explosive senior broke 54- and 59-yard scoring runs in the second quarter to give Ganesha a 21-0 lead.

The family of former Garey High School defensive tackle Edward Acuna is suing Riddell, the official helmet manufacturer of the National Football League, after Acuna suffered an injury last season that led to extensive brain damage. This is not the first time Riddell has been sued over related incidents, but the Acuna family is hoping to finally tip the scales and force Riddell to make changes to its equipment.

"There is litigation going back 10 years over the front pad of the helmet not performing as intended and leading to head injuries," said Ilyas Akbari, Acuna's attourney, "Riddell has had many chances to use an available, low-cost alternative design that, we believe, would have prevented head injuries like Edward's. They just simply have not done so. The time has come to hold Riddell accountable and to demand a safer design."

Read the story in its entirety here on DailyBulletin.com

The third year of their tenure makes or breaks a lot of football coaches. And while Rick Ward doesn't have Jerry Jones looking over his shoulder in his third year at Montclair, he is confident that the discipline he's instilling in the program will be more evidenced on the field for everybody to see.

Montclair has won two league games the last two years combined - and six total games - but had the Mt. Baldy League had four playoff spots last season, the Cavaliers would have finished one game out of the postseason picture. Montclair has a large hill to climb considering it gave up 30 points a game last season but Ward may have found some solid founation to build on.

"The first year the weight room was non-existent," Ward said. "Last year we had some guys come in but they were just kind of punching the clock. This year it's all in."

Is Colony really that mysterious this season? I don't think so. Despite a new coach in Matt Bechtel, a new system in the no-huddle, spread offense and only two returning starters, this is a school well-known for the athletes that populate its halls. The new coach also happens to be the same guy who coordinated the offense that helped Los Osos to at least a share of four straight league titles. (The one season Bechtel spent at Chaffey College - 2008 - was the lone year in the last five Los Osos didn't earn a piece of the Baseline League championship)

Maybe if Colony were in the Baseline League I'd give it less of a chance to succeed while making such a big transition, but the Titans will likely have plenty to work with despite the departure of some of their better players and the return of just two starters. With such an inexperienced team, however, Bechtel is understandably cautious with his expectations.

"We could be a team that plays for a CIF championship or we could be a team that's scratching and clawing to make the playoffs," Bechtel said. "I love my team. These guys are young but they're eager and what they lack in experience they make up for in willingness to do what we tell them in order to be successful."

As tough as things were for Ontario during a one-win season last year, they just got tougher. Before the season has even begun, seven seniors who "didn't want to get along and didn't want to do what we wanted them to," according to head coach Steve Randall, are no longer members of the team.

"I know everything's optimistic this time of year but I'll be honest, those guys would have made us a lot better this year," Randall said. "We won't be as bad as we were last year but our league is also tougher."

A year after finishing second in the Mt. Baldy League, Ontario's one win last season came Week 1 against a La Verne Lutheran team that had just made the jump from 8-man football and folded before the season ended. The good news for Ontario is that eight starters return on offense, including Hector Ochoa, who was supposed to be the starting quarterback last season before knee surgery prior to the season.

Don Lugo may have graduated two of the most exciting players in the Inland Valley - behemoth defensive lineman George Uko now at USC and leading rusher Steven Bethley, who scored touchdowns about every conceivable way on offense, defense and special teams - but the 2010 Conquistadores may quite possibly be a better team this year. With the uncertainty of a new coaching staff for a Colony team that has won the league three of the last four years, some believe Don Lugo could be poised to move into the top tier of the Mt. Baldy League.

"Chaffey and Don Lugo," Ontario coach Steve Randall said, "are the top two teams in the league, in my opinion."

This season will go a long way toward indicating what kind of program third-year head coach Rick Martin has built at Don Lugo. If the Conquistadores can not only withstand the loss of a couple players the caliber of Uko and Bethley, but perhaps improve, it will prove a ton about the direction of the team.

Chino may have gone winless last season, but high school football allows for some quick turnarounds and the Cowboys may have reason to believe they can pull one off. First of all, they moved from a revamped Sierra League to the less competitive Mt. Baldy League. Secondly, there are four playoff spots and only seven teams in Chino's new realigned league.

Is it likely Chino will contend for a playoff spot? No. But in a league with only two teams who have made the playoffs at least two seasons in a row, the Mt. Baldy League is fairly wide open outside of Colony and Chaffey - one of which has won the league each of the last seven years.

In his first year as head football coach, Chino graduate Matt McCain (who will pull double duty as the Chino athletic director for the sixth year) will try and restore the pride to a once proud program that has won five games the last three years combined. McCain knows a little something about that pride seeing as he was an assistant coach for nine years during some of Chino's finest moments. He is optimistic, to say the least.

High hopes and low expectations make for an exciting combination. Home to the best player in the Mt. Baldy League but also a 10-year playoff drought, Garey embodies both. After winning one game in 2008, the Vikings were one win away from the playoffs last season. And now that Chino has given the Mt. Baldy League seven teams, there are four playoff spots up for grabs instead of just three.

Leading a Garey offense that averaged 24 points last season will be 6-foot-4, 190-pound receiver Dominique Williams, who not only has the size but the 4.5-second speed. He has the scholarship offers to prove it. Boise State, Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, San Diego State and Colorado State, to name a few, have already offered with more likely to come.

"I'd dare to say that going into this thing he [Williams] is the best athlete in our league," Chaffey head coach Chris Brown said. "He was even making plays against Colony last year even though Colony was clearly the best team in league."

Chaffey renovated its football field in the offseason but the largest things constructed on campus this summer are yet to be officially unveiled. Head coach Chris Brown, entering his 12th year at Chaffey, labeled his 2010 offensive line the largest he's ever had. If you are familiar with the Tigers' style - their run:pass ratio during a 2009 season in which they aired it out was still nearly 10:1 - a big offensive line is a big weapon.

Try this on for size. The Chaffey offensive line averages 268 pounds a person. Including 6-foot-2, 250-pound tight end Kyle Hoff, that's 1,590 pounds of beef set in motion on the snap. Also, Chaffey's line is not only its biggest ever, but its deepest ever. While the ankle injuries will assuredly be reduced by the new field turf, the Chaffey reserve line has plenty of size and ability when called upon.

"This is the biggest team we've had across the line," Brown said. "And they're mean. They just have an edge to them."

While the Mt. Baldy League's second-place team a year ago is replacing two-year starting quarterback Jacob Ahmad and running back Ronald Douglas' 223 rushing yards per game, behind this line it could be in line to top the feats of a 2009 team that came within three points from the CIF semifinals.

As long as the two football players who transferred from Colony to Pomona High School were unaware at the time of their transfer of former Colony coach Anthony Rice's impending move to the Pomona sidelines, their transfers are legitimate. Both Makale McCobb and Gerald Kough, who played at Colony last season, transfered prior to Rice being hired as the head football coach at Pomona. Demetrius Counts, however, was ruled athletically ineligible for his senior year likely because Colony's second-leading rusher last season transferred to Pomona in June after Rice was hired in May.

"It would have to be proved that the 2 players in question knew Anthony (Rice) was going to be hired at Pomona prior to their transfers, in any event," CIF director of communication Thom Simmons said. "Had the two players transferred after Anthony was hired at Pomona, the office could possibly make a reasonable assumption that of prima facie evidence of a athletically motivated transfer. The same assumption is much more difficult when the transfer happens before."

Second-team all-Mt. Baldy League players in 2009, McCobb and Kough had their transfers to Pomona approved March 26 and Feb. 5, respectively. Rice resigned from Colony Feb. 3, accepted Pomona's job offer Feb. 25 and was hired in May.

Ashley Cooke, the CIF-SS Masters meet 300-meter hurdle champion, signed a letter of intent with Cal two weeks ago. Cooke graduated from Colony this year and will begin classes at Berkley in the fall. She ran the 300 hurdles in 42.65 seconds at Masters to outlast hurdlers including eventual state champion Kori Carter of Claremont. Cooke just missed a spot on the podium at the CIF State meet, finishing fourth in the event in a time of 42.01 seconds, .01 seconds behind the third-place finisher.

Three players who were part of Colony High School's Mt. Baldy League championship football team last season have transferred to Pomona High School but one of them isn't eligible to play his senior season, according to the CIF Web site. Anthony Rice, who coached the Colony football team to two CIF championships during his four-year tenure that ended last season, took over as Pomona head coach in May but CIF rules prevent players from transferring to the same school as their coach.

Demetrius Counts, the second-leading rusher for Colony last season, transferred to Pomona June 14, per the CIF Web site, which states that he is denied eligibility in all sports for his final year of high school. Counts was also a starting guard for the prolific Colony basketball team. Rice was unavailable for comment.

Before transferring to Pomona, Makale McCobb, a second-team all Mt. Baldy League receiver as a junior at Colony last season, transferred to Ontario Christian in April or May, according to Colony athletic director Jaime Sandoval. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior-to-be is eligible for the upcoming season, according to the CIF Web site, due to a valid change of address and perhaps because McCobb didn't transfer directly from Colony to Pomona.

I spoke recently to Monse Estrada, who was retiring after the season after more than three decades as teacher and head baseball coach at Garey HIgh School.

At the request of the administration, Estrada is returning as an off-campus head coach. He said he will help train his successor and ease the transition.

Estrada's star player, Vincent Velasquez, a second-round draft pick by the Houston Astros last month (58th overall) made his pro debut last week.
After signing with the Astros, Velasquez reported to rookie-level Greeneville (Tenn.) and he has pitched in two games. In those two games, he's 1-0, having pitched four innings, allowing one hit, no runs, two walks while striking out five.

After the Houston Astros made him their second-round pick on June 8 in the MLB draft, Garey High School pitcher Vincent Velasquez will sign with the team Wednesday, according to his father Leonard Velasquez. The terms of the contract for the 58th overall pick were not disclosed.

Velasquez will pass up a scholarship to Cal State Fullerton and hop a flight to Houston on Thursday to meet with the media. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-hander posted a 1.89 ERA his senior season, went 6-1 and struck out 52 batters (in addition to hitting .608 with with 29 RBIs).

These quotes and details didn't make it into my MLB draft day 2 story. Thanks to colleague T.J. Berka for the info and quotes.

Miller High pitcher Cesar Aguilar was drafted in the 14th round by St. Louis on Tuesday.

"It feels good to be drafted. I've been looking forward to this for a long time," he said.
"I didn't really know when I'd be drafted, so I wasn't that worried about it. I figured I would be drafted, but I wasn't sure when."

"I've been dreaming of this since I was a little kid. Every time I went to a major league game or a minor league game, I imagined playing on the field."

He plans on signing Thursday and will leave Friday. He received a $60,000 signing bonus.

"It's not bad for an 18-year old kid in high school. I'll just save it, There's really nothing I need to buy right now," he said.

BASEBALL
MVP: Vincent Velasquez, Garey, Sr.
1st team
Kevin Lara, Don Lugo, Sr.
Alex Mancillas, Don Lugo, Sr.
Jeff Miller, Don Lugo, Sr.
Scott Makoran, Don Lugo, Sr.
Danny Maturino, Garey, Sr.
Josh Ortega, Garey, Sr.
Thomas Michel, GArey, Jr.
Oscar Gomez, Montclair, Sr.
Eddie Ramirez, Montclair, Sr.
Andrew Jacquez, Ontario, Jr.
Joey Puzin, Colony, Sr.
Kyle Zosky, Colony, So.
Andrew MacKenzie, Colony, Sr.
Aaron Bernal, Colony, So.

Colony head football coach Matt Bechtel may not be ready to compare his first effort at quarterback camps to Orange County guru Steve Clarkson's, but those who have experienced both are. A turnout larger than expected showed for each Field Generals camp -- one late March and another early April -- run by Bechtel, Corona Santiago head coach Jeff Steinberg, Jurupa Valley head coach Dave Pierson and former Division I quarterbacks coach Ben Noonan. Eighteen quarterbacks attended the camp at Kaiser High on March 27 and 28 while 20 attended the April 10 and 11 camp at Citrus College.

"We had some parents come up to us at the end and tell us it was worth every penny," Bechtel said. "We don't want to compare ourselves to Steve Clarkson but we had some parents tell us that they sent their kids to his camp and they did a lot of standing around there."

With a quarterback to coach ratio of 5:1, the hour in the classroom followed by two and a half hours of drills and an accuracy competition was more productive than at some larger scale camps, according to Bechtel. Serrano freshman quarterback Daniel Epperson won the accuracy competition at the Kaiser camp by hitting 24 of 40 targets.

"We had some talent out there," Bechtel said. "There were some JC kids and some young kids who you probably won't hear about this year but definitely next year."

Bechtel is hoping to run as many as four camps next year.

Ontario High School is holding a ceremony on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. to name its baseball field after longtime baseball coach Bob Beck. Beck, who retired from his Ontatio coaching job four years ago, led the Jaguars to an undefeated season and the 1991 CIF-SS 3-A championship with a roster that included current 15-year major league baseball veteran Mike Sweeney Jr.

Beck, a Chaffey Joint Union School district employee for 40 years, will have the field's scoreboard and a plaque dedicated to him during the ceremony prior to Ontario's game with Montclair.

Southern California quarterback camps are no longer exclusive to Steve Clarkson and Bob Johnson.

Colony head football coach Matt Bechtel, Corona Santiago head coach Jeff Steinberg and former Baylor University and Alabama State quarterback coach Ben Noonan are hosting a quarterback camp Saturday and Sunday at Kaiser High School that has attracted talent from across the Inland Empire.

"It's the only one of its kind in this area," said Bechtel, who played quarterback at the University of San Diego. "What Steve Clarkson and Bob Johnson do, that's the caliber of training you're going to get at this camp."

Inland Division (no at-large entries)
Baseline
Big VIII (4 entries)
Citrus Belt
Sierra
Southwestern
Notes: The Baseline League essentially had four entries for the two seasons it was in the Inland Division, claiming the lone at-large berth each year. Last year the at-large team, Upland, won the entire division. In an Inland Division where it produced one collective playoff victory in its last two seasons there, life is going to be different for a Baseline League that produced six of the last eight semifinalists in the Central Division.

Central Division (no at-large entries)
Mt. Baldy (4 entries)
Desert Valley
Inland Valley (4 entries)
San Andreas (4 entries)
Notes: Colony won this division two years in a row before the arrival of the Baseline and Sierra Leagues two seasons ago. New coach Matt Bechtel, formerly Los Osos High's offensive coordinator, likely won't be disappointed he doesn't have to face his old league foes in the playoffs.

Ontario replaced recently departed girls basketball coach Bryan Grant with Kevin Crocker last week. An assistant coach in the Colony boys basketball program for the last seven years, Crocker could be approved as the Jaguars new head coach as early as a March 16 board meeting. Grant, who stepped down after the birth of his second child, led Ontario from four wins in his first season of 2007-08 to 18 wins and a second consecutive playoff appearance last season.

"Bryan Grant did a great job of turning the program back around the last couple of years," Crocker said. "We definitely have the athletes to build upon what he has done."

For the first time since 1984 and 1985, the Inland Valley has no state placers in wrestling for back-to-back years.
The two wrestlers who made it to Saturday, Cody Dixon of Colony and Giordan Porter of Rialto lost their first matches Saturday in Bakersfield.
Dixon never got anything going against Ian Roy of Poway (ranked No. 7) and lost 7-1 and was unable to become his school's first state placer.
Porter, ranked sixth, was trying to do the same thing, and he lost a heartbreaker 3-2 to second-ranked Orry Elor of Pleasant Hill College Park and was eliminated. Porter was not awarded a takedown with about 12 seconds to go (although it looked like a takedown), when the official ruled it was out of bounds.

Of the 4 Inland Valley wrestlers competing at state, two have made it to the second day.
Colony senior 160-pounder Cody Dixon and Rialto heavyweight Giordan Porter, are both hoping to become their schools' first-ever state placers.
Dixon will wrestle No. 7-ranked Ian Roy of Poway to stay alive Saturday morning. Dixon lost to the No. 3-ranked wrestler and defeated No. 4
Porter lost his third-round match in double overtime, and remained alive in consolation, winning his last match 1-0 on a late escape.
Tim Maldonado (119) of Los Osos and Brian Ryu of Diamond Bar (heavyweight) did not make it to Day 2.

Here's how the Inland Valley wrestlers fared so far through two championship rounds at the CIF State championships in Bakersfield on Friday. Two losses on the first day and you're eliminated. Some wrestlers didn't have to wrestle until the second round.

Tim Maldonado, Los Osos (119)
won 11-6, lost 12-4

Cody Dixon, Colony (160)
lost to No. 3-ranked Bryce Hammond, 15-1

Giordan Porter, Rialto (heavyweight)
won via pin in 1:46

Brian Ryu, Diamond Bar (heavyweight)
defaulted first match due to injury (it appeared to be an ankle). not sure if he'll continue. He'll have a few hours before his next match.

BOYS SOCCER
MVP
Adrian Topete, Jr., Montclair

FIrst team
Arturo Mota, Jr., Chaffey
Daniel Lopez, Jr., Chaffey
Rene Cisneros, Sr., Colony
Jonathan Bocanegra, Jr., Don Lugo
Victor Cervantes, Sr., Garey
Saul Diaz, Sr., Garey
Bryan Rivera, Sr., Garey
Antonio Marquez, Sr., Montclair
Scott La Fontaine, Sr., Montclair
Andrew Peralta, Sr., Montclair
Juan Galarza, Sr., Montclair
Daniel Nunez, Sr., Ontario
Jorge Virgen, Sr., Ontario
David Rodriquez, Jr., Ontario

BOYS BASKETBALL
MVPs
Julian Caldwell, Sr., Colony
Evan Brooks, Sr., Colony

First team
Matthew Baty, Sr., Chaffey
Demetrius Counts, Jr., Colony
Josiah Dennis, Jr., Colony
Sammeon Waller, Sr., Don Lugo
Geogre Uko, Sr., Don Lugo
Narciso Brito, Sr., Garey
Pascual Valadez, Sr., Montclair
Tory Gilroy, Sr., Montclair
Devyn Sampson, So., Montclair
Joseph Davis, Jr., Ontario

After seven years as the offensive coordinator at Los Osos High School, Matt Bechtel was hired as the head football coach at Colony High School on Monday, pending board approval that can come no sooner than March 2. Bechtel, 35, begins his first stint as a head coach with plenty of hopes for a Colony program that won CIF championships in 2006 and 2007.

"If you look at the success at Colony and the potential there, it's the type of program that can be a force not just in the area but in the entire Inland Empire," Bechtel said. "I don't think winning will so much be the challenge here as it will be to adjust to a new coaching staff and a new philosophy."

Bechtel has spent nearly his entire coaching career in the Inland Empire, beginning with a year as an assistant at Cajon in 1996 before spending 1997-2002 as the quarterbacks coach at Upland. He was hired in 2002 to be the offensive coordinator at Los Osos, where he remained save the 2008 season during which he was the Chaffey College offensive coordinator.

Bechtel was the head coach-in-waiting at Los Osos behind Tom Martinez, the Grizzlies' inaugural head coach.

"My phone was blowing up all day with people asking me why I would leave if I was the next guy at Los Osos," Bechtel said. "It was a tough decision - I've had other opportunities since I've been at Los Osos - but I felt like this was the perfect fit with my philosophy. Tom (Martinez) is a young man. He's got plenty of years left and I didn't want to be the one to push him out."

Everything else being equal, there are worse places to go than Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach.
But Montclair girls soccer coach Sean Luebbers would prefer not to be going there. His Cavaliers, Mt. Baldy League champions, are forced to play their first round game at Corona del Mar instead of at home because of a ball violation.
Luebbers said he was using an older model Spalding ball, the TF2000 instead of the official Spalding TF5000. He said he knew there was a newer ball, but didn't realize using the older one constituted a ball violation. Even when an official recently pointed out that he was using the old ball, the official didn't indicate that it was a ball violation.
Luebbers didn't find out about the penalty (which is common in these situations) until he looked at the playoff bracket sheet.
So not only does Montclair have to hit the road in the first round, but if the Cavaliers win, they don't have any better chance of being at home in subsequent rounds because the first-round game counts as a home game.
Luebbers said he hadn't bought the TF5000 balls before, but he has them now, ready so he doesn't get penalized again.

The Colony High School boys basketball team finished its fifth consecutive undefeated run through the Mt. Baldy League in style Tuesday night.... with a 39-point win over Montclair, its closest league challenger this year. Coincidentally, the Colony girls capped its fourth straight year without a loss in the Mt. Baldy League with a 70-29 win over Montclair.

Boys coach Jerry De Fabiis disappeared into the locker room after the buzzer only to emerge with a Colony basketball jersey... you can probably guess what number was on the back. After the celebration and team pictures at mid-court, by the time the Titans lined up to cut down the nets in South Ontario, De Fabiis had pulled on jersey No. 50.

"A lot of people say, 'Well, your league isn't that good,' " De Fabiis said. "But to come in here every night and be ready is something to be proud of. This league is better than people think and to not get caught on one night ... this is something you can tell your kids about."

• Having not received his Fresno State sweatshirt by Wednesday's signing ceremony, Los Osos High School cornerback Sean Alston borrowed a Bulldogs sweatshirt from a fellow Fresno signee who conveniently attend a school less than a mile from his. Greg Watson, quarterback of rival Rancho Cucamonga, invited Alston to his house to pick up a sweatshirt..."Once enemies," Alston said, "now teammates." The sweatshirt may not have been the coolest peice of Fresno State paraphernalia on Alston's person Wednesday. The Los Osos senior was wearing a cotton replica of an old school facemask-less Fresno State footbal helmet... if those things don't catch on soon, I'll be shocked.
• Richard Bell, the father of Colony cornerback Jered Bell, made a deal before his son signed with Colorado on Wednesday. A wing back at Nebraska from 1985-90, Richard agreed to brand himself a Colorado fan for as long as Jered wears the black and gold. "As soon as he graduates," Richard said, "I'm back to Nebraska."
• Colony running back Jamil Austin, who after a 2,000-yard season signed with Portland State of the FCS (formerly Division I-AA), was offered an official visit to Washington State by the coaching staff a week before national signing day. He refused, staunchly unwilling to go back on his verbal commitment to Portland State, displaying an attitude that has all but disappeared in the back-stabbing mayhem that has become college recruiting.

Tossing around a few candidates for the recently vacated Colony High School head coaching position...

Matt Bechtel: As some of the comments have mentioned, Los Osos High School's offensive coordinator seems the hottest assistant coach in the Inland Valley. If he's not playing the role of Texas' Will Mushcmap to Los Osos head coach Tom Martinez's Mack Brown, Colony might be a good fit for a young up and coming coach like Bechtel. After a year at Chaffey College, the effect Bechtel had in his return to Los Osos last season was obvious. Having graduated three-year starting quarterback Richard Brehaut to UCLA and do-everything running back Arby Fields to Northwestern, Los Osos surged to the CIF championship game in no small part because of Bechtel.

Eric Martinez: The Upland defensive coordinator has not only been to four consecutive CIF-SS Central Division champioinship games (emerging on the winning side of three of them), he has gone twice as Colony's defensive coordinator. After winning titles with the Titans in 2006 and 2007, he coordinated the Upland defense that carried the Highlanders to the 2009 CIF title. His ties to Colony coupled with his uncanny run of success seem to make him an obvious candidate.

John Kuslieka: The former Alta Loma head coach whose name staff writer Pete Marshall brought up is famaliar with the area. In eight years at Alta Loma before resigning last season, Kuslieka compiled a 36-37-1 record, the last seven seasons of which were in the ultra-competitive Baseline League. Kuslieka seems to have the right mix of a hard-line attitude and motivational approach that might work well at Colony.

After two CIF championships in his four years at Colony High School, head football coach Anthony Rice resigned Tuesday, with his sights set on the head coaching job at Pomona High School.

Rice, 35, desires an administrative position, something that appears difficult to obtain at Colony amidst the financial crisis. His Jan. 25 application for the Pomona head coaching position isn't Rice's only link to the job, according to former Pomona head football coach John Brown.

After one year as coach, Brown resigned Jan. 8 on the premise that Rice was offered the Pomona head coaching position behind Brown's back, a claim Rice and Pomona principal Roger Fasting denied. Rice said he was never offered the head coaching position, but shortly after the season ended in November, Pomona athletic director Tom Sweeney contacted him about an offensive coordinator position under Brown.

Brown's resignation and Rice's application for the Pomona head coaching position are not related, according to Rice.

"It's very much a coincidence," Rice said. "Everybody can say what they want, but I have to go through the same process as everybody else that applied for the job. Let the naysayers fall where they may."

Chaffey High School running back Ronald Douglas, whose 2,671 yards, were the third-most in the state when his season ended in the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs, has verbally committed to Sacramento State of the FCS, formerly Division I-AA. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, who averaged eight yards a carry and scored 24 TDs this season, also had scholarship offers from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Jose State.

Gary Berwick, a three-year starter at center for Rancho Cucamonga High School, has verbally committed to the University of San Digeo, also of the FCS. The 6-foot, 235-pounder was the quarterback of the offensive line that helped lead the Cougars to an undefeated 2008 season and the CIF-SS Central Division championship.

Chino High School didn't have to look far for its new head football coach. Matt McCain, who will retain his athletic director position at Chino, will be the fourth head coach of the Cowboys in the last six years, pending board approval that can come no earlier than Feb. 18.

The Chino graduate will replace the departed Greg Setlich, who went 2-18 in his two seasons at the helm following a two-year stint by Manny Saiz that netted seven wins.

"We've been through some challenging times recently, but there's a rich history," McCain said. "I think we can get it back on track. I think a lot of our kids at Chino. Chino High School is a great place to work and coach. Expectations are high."

McCain has been a large part of that rich history, playing for and coaching under John Monger during the legendary coach's 19-year tenure at the school.

Pomona High School football coach John Brown resigned Jan. 8 on the premise that the school offered his job to Colony fourth-year head coach Anthony Rice soon after Brown's first and only season head coach. Rice said that in a conversation about two months ago with Pomona athletic director Tom Sweeney, Rice's friend and former colleague, Sweeney floated the idea of Rice joining Pomona's coaching staff as the offensive coordinator under Brown.

"I was never offered (Brown's) job," Rice said Tuesday. "Tom (Sweeney) was talking to me about being the offensive coordinator and I just laughed it off. It was kind of a joke... I'm already a head coach, so why would I go be an offensive coordinator? He was kind of serious about it but I just laughed it off."

Mike Sweeney, the Ontario HS grad who has 207 home runs and a .298 batting average in 15 major league seasons, is hosting a one-day camp on Feb. 6 10 a.m-2:30 p.m.
It is for players aged 6-18. Cost is $85 and includes the camp, t-shirt, lunch and an autographed photo of Sweeney.
Proceeds will benefit the Ontario High baseball team, now coached by his father, Mike Sweeney Sr. For registration info, contact the student store at Ontario at (909) 988-7411 or Mike Sweeney Sr. at mikesweeney42@hotmail.com. Several current and former pro players will be instructors for the camp, including Bonita High School products Jeremy and Mark Reed. Jeremy, who played for the Mets last year, signed with Toronto today for 2010.

Brown said Colony head football coach Anthony Rice was offered his job after the season and Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton was contacted about his job in the middle of the season. When reached Friday, both Rice and Layton said they weren't contacted about or offered the head football coaching job by Pomona High School.

Both Layton and Rice, who graduated from Pomona Unified School District's Ganesha High and Garey High, respectively, acknowledged knowing many in and around Pomona's football program. Layton was an assistant coach on the 1996 Pomona staff with Brown.

"I never got a phone call from anybody at Pomona and I've never been offered a job at Pomona," Layton said. "I'm sure if my name pops up - I'm a product of Pomona Unified, I coached there for a year and I'd like to think I've had some success recently - it's because my name pops up in a lot of places."

Pomona principal Roger Fasting, however, denied that the school contacted anybody about Brown's job.

"None of that is true," Fasting said. "His letter came as a surprise to us because he hadn't talked to us about resigning. I'm not sure where he got his information or how he heard that story."

Said Brown: "I'm telling you he's lying. They interviewed another guy for my job in the middle of the season. They told me the only reason they're doing this is because they want an on-campus coach. And that's fine, but don't go about it like this."

There were plenty of debatable names left on and off the All-CIF football teams released this week. Here are three players who didn't make the cut in the Central Division who left the debate behind about four months ago.

• Don Lugo defensive lineman George Uko, who scout.com rates the No. 2 player at his position in the country somehow didn't make the All-CIF team in his own division. The best defensive lineman in Southern California, who played for a playoff team, wasn't deemed a top 8 defensive lineman in the Central Division. USC's probably going to take the 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior, who was the most highly recruited player in the Inland Valley, anyway.

• Chaffey running back Ronald Douglas had the third-most rushing yards in California when his season ended on Nov. 27 but somehow missed the cut for All-CIF in the Central Division. Douglas rolled up 2,671 yards and 24 TDs on 343 carries, averaging nearly 8 yards per carry. His Chaffey team nearly defeated eventual Central Division runner-up Los Osos in a 28-26 quarterfinal playoff game. Chaffey coach Chris Brown wasn't pleased with the snub of the player that would have set Chaffey's all-time rushing record had he not been on the bench for a few second halves. "I know I'm venting a little bit but what they did is just flat out wrong," Brown said. "If you look at this team it just doesn't make sense."

• Garey's 6-foot-3 junior receiver Dominique Williams had 45 receptions for 1,213 yards and 10 TDs for a Garey team that passed for just 1,800 yards 17 TDs - and Williams threw one of those TDs! - but was a less attractive option than a receiver in his own league with 600 less yards, five less catches and four less TDs? As for the argument that Williams' Garey team wasn't relevant, the Vikings were one win away from the school's first playoff appearance since 2000.

Here are the boys basketball matchups for the Martin Luther King one-day event at Los Osos High School. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students.

8 a.m. - Ontario vs. San Dimas
9:30 a.m. - Bishop Amat vs. Charter Oak
11 a.m. - Serrano vs. Claremont
12:30 p.m. - Diamond Bar vs. Rancho Cucamonga
2 p.m. - Chino Hills vs. Los Alamitos
3:30 p.m. - Glendora vs. Garey
5 p.m. - Twentynine Palms vs. Alta Loma
6:30 p.m. - Santa Monica vs. Etiwanda
8 p.m. - Los Osos vs. Ayala

CIF-SS CENTRAL DIVISION
Co-offensive players of the year: Angel Santiago, QB, Etiwanda, Sr.; Jamil Austin, RB Colony, Sr.
Defensive player of the year: Tim Helton, LB, Upland, Sr.
Coach of the year: Tim Salter, Upland

OFFENSE
Quarterback
Greg Watson, Rancho Cucamonga, Sr., 6-0 190
Chad Jefferies, Glendora, Jr., 6-3 180
Ryan Verdugo, Chino Hills, Sr., 6-1 195

Running back
Derrick Malone, Colton, Sr., 6-3 205
Tyler Ervin, Colton, Jr., 6-0 175
Cody Rogina, Los Osos, Jr., 5-10 185
Michael Boyd, Rancho Cucamonga, Sr., 5-10 180

DIVISION I-AA
1. Mater Dei
2. Long Beach Poly
3. Corona Centennial
4. Upland
5. Rancho Verde
6. Etiwanda
7. Thousand Oaks
8. Montebello
9. Oxnard
10. Los Alamitos
11. Los Osos
12. Redlands
13. Jordan
14. Lakewood
15. Ventura
16. Vista Murrieta

As some suspected, the scholarship offer Don Lugo defensive tackle George Uko received in June from USC was probably the only one he ever needed. The five-star recruit, rated the second-best DT in the country by scout.com, indeed committed to the Trojans on Christmas Day with offers standing from Oregon, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Cal, UCLA, Miami and many more.

"(USC) was in the lead from the beginning," said Uko, the most highly recruited player in the Inland Valley. "I grew up watching 'SC and I knew it was a good school. As a freshman I didn't think I could get there. But when I knew I could, that's where I wanted to go."

The decision came down to four schools: UCLA, Cal, Oregon and USC. It was Oregon, Uko said, he thought the most about before finally commiting to the Trojans.

Don Lugo High School all-everything defensive tackle George Uko verbally committed to USC on Dec. 25, according to rivals.com and scout.com. I've got a meeting set up with Uko on Wednesday to confirm his committment.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound senior chose the Trojans from a top five of USC, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Miami and LSU. The five-star defensive tackle, according to scout.com, had copious other offers from schools around the country, including Cal and Oregon.

Uko, who played in the Under Armor All-America game on Saturday, had 88 tackles and 15 sacks this season.

In my recent interview with Upland's Tim Salter for the football Coach of the Year story, I wasn't asking all the questions. Fresh off a CIF championship, the Upland coach, who is one of the most engaging in the Inland Valley, had a question for me.

"Why weren't we in your preseason Top 10?"

A valid question, to say the least, given that the Highlanders lost two games by a total of five points this season on the way to a CIF title. Ironically, with one spot left in my preseason Top 10, I was debating between two teams: Upland and Los Osos - the two that eventually squared off in the CIF-SS Central Division championship game. I gave the spot to Los Osos, which seemed to have lost slightly less from its star-studded 2008 team.

Recalling my preseason efforts, or lack thereof, I thought I'd do final rankings based on all that transpired in the 2009 season. Not just a Top 10 but a slotting of every team in the Daily Bulletin coverage area...

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Anthony Brown, Senior running back/defensive back, Kaiser High School
The USC-bound Brown missed two games this season but still compiled 1,681 yards and 18 touchdowns on 198 carries in leading the Cats to their ninth consecutive Sunkist League championship and the semifinals of the CIF-SS Eastern Division. Brown, who is talented enough on both sides of the ball that USC hasn't yet determined what position he'll play in college, had 55 tackles and an interception as a cornerback.

COACH OF THE YEAR:
Tim Salter, Upland High School
A season after graduating four players with a collective total of circa 50 scholarship offers, Salter led Upland to its first CIF championship since 2000. With members of an offense that averaged more than 35 points per game gone to Stanford, Northwestern and Arizona State, Salter rode a defense that held opponents under 11 points per game to his third CIF championship at Upland.

San Dimas' Bill Zernickow finished a close second after guiding the Saints to their first ever CIF championship this season. After taking Diamond Ranch from its second consecutive 1-6 start to a second consecutive CIF championship game appearance, Roddy Layton was under consideration along with Los Osos' Tom Martinez, who led the Grizzlies to the school's first-ever CIF championship game after losing 38 seniors.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
Upland head coach Tim Salter celebrates the Highlanders' 19-7 win over Los Osos in the CIF-SS Central Division championship game on Dec. 11.

With re-leaguing taking effect next school year, here are the 2010 leagues:

Baseline League:
Alta Loma
Etiwanda
Glendora
Los Osos
Rancho Cucamonga
Upland

Citrus Belt League:
Eisenhower
Fontana
Miller
Redlands
Redlands East Valley
Yucaipa

Don Lugo High School's George Uko is still receiving scholarship offers from "everybody in the country, you name it, except the Big Ten," according to Don Lugo head coach Rick Martin. Miami extended the most recent offer to the 6-foot-4, 295-pound senior rated the third-best defensive tackle in the nation by scout.com, when coach Randy Shannon was on the Don Lugo campus last week.

Uko's current top five are: USC, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Miami and LSU.

Prior to the season, the most heavily recruited player in the Inland Valley included Oregon and Cal in his top five along with USC, Tennessee and Oklahoma. After collecting 88 tackles and 15 sacks this season, Uko will play in the Under Armor All-America game on Jan. 2.

Steam is picking up in the recruiting of Uko's teammate, running back/safety Steven Bethley. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior added an offer from San Jose State to ones from San Diego State and Colorado State before the season. After Bethley rushed for 1,143 yards and 15 touchdowns, had six interceptions and returned three punts for scores this season, he was offered by Army on Wednesday and is receiving increased interest from Washington.

"Washington is serious about Steven," Martin said. "They're making a late run at him and Arizona State has also called. Now is the time when Steven is going to get most his attention because a lot of these schools have found out more about their commitments."

It's no surprise that the Colony High School football team dominated the awards, producing both the offensive and defensive MVPs and landing a league-high 10 players in on the first team.

Offensive MVP: Jamil Austin, Colony, 12, RB
Austin racked up 1,826 rushing yards on just 170 carries (that's 10.7 yards per carry) and scored 22 TDs in leading Colony to a 10-2 record and an undefeated run through the Mt. Baldy league for the school's third league title in four years.

Defensive MVP: Edward Todd, Colony, 12, MLB
With a team-leading 94 tackles and four sacks, Todd was the leader of a stingy Colony defense that allowed just 13.4 points per game.

FIRST ROUND
No. 1 Colton over Don Lugo
Rancho Cucamonga over Glendora
Chaffey over Hemet West Valley
No. 4 Los Osos over Arroyo Valley
Chino Hills over No. 3 Wildomar Elsinore
Etiwanda over Cajon
Damien over Upland
No. 2 Colony over Menifee Paloma Valley

QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 Colton over Rancho Cucamonga
No. 4 Los Osos over Chaffey
Etiwanda over Chino Hills
No. 2 Colony over Damien

SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Colton over No. 4 Los Osos
Etiwanda over No. 2 Colony

FINALS
Etiwanda over No. 1 Colton

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

Colony cornerback Jered Bell verbally committed to Colorado this week after paying a visit to the campus in Boulder, Colo., on Nov. 6, according to Colony head football coach Anthony Rice.

The 6-foot, 179-pound senior is the 63rd ranked cornerback in the country by rivals.com and the 99th-ranked player in the state of California. Bell was drawing interest from Colorado State, among others, but Colorado was his only scholarship offer.

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

Though he has been a player of the week before, Douglas' 366 yards on 47 carries in Chaffey's 22-7 win over Garey on Friday warranted a repeat. The senior is now averaging over 200 yards on the ground per game with 1,812 on the season. His three touchdowns Friday gave him 16 in nine games this year.

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

Bonita senior wide receiver Codey Sykes caught seven passes for 170 yards, including the 18-yard game winner with 27 seconds left in the Bearcats' 26-20 victory over Los Altos on Friday.

Colony running back Jamil Austin gashed the Garey defense for 268 yards and six touchdowns on just 12 carries in Colony's 55-7 win on Friday.

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

With Mt. Baldy League play getting underway on Friday, here is how I think the league standings will look after Nov. 12:

Colony 5-0
Chaffey 4-1
Don Lugo 3-2
Garey 2-3
Montclair 1-4
Ontario 0-5

At its lowest point during the Anthony Rice era, Colony still took Chaffey to overtime last season in a 20-14 loss. Chaffey went on to win the Mt. Baldy League title for the first time since 2005 and Colony dropped to third with a loss to Ontario.

The two years prior, Colony didn't lose a single game in the Mt. Baldy League (or the playoffs, for that matter). After a nonleague showing nothing short of shockingly good, the Titans (4-1) appear to have returned to their CIF title form. Whether or not they are equipped to win a championship in a revamped Central Division is another matter, but Colony appears poised for another run to a league title.

Chaffey is more dynamic this season, allowing QB Jacob Ahmad to throw it a little more, particularly to 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end Christian Sanders. And the Tigers' clock-killing style is always dangerous if they get a lead. But Colony's defense is as big and physical as ever.

Entering league play on a three-game winning streak, Don Lugo is hoping to make some noise in league. The Conquistadores' wins, however, have come at the expense of less than stellar teams, leaving Don Lugo much to prove.

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

• I think Kaiser's Anthony Brown (above) should play running back in college, as opposed to cornerback. I saw the USC-committed senior play for the first time in Friday's 19-14 loss to Colony, during which he rolled up 199 yards on 27 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He plays a lot bigger than 5-feet-11, 180 pounds and I have no doubt he would make a fine cornerback given his athleticism and fondness for contact. USC has yet to indicate where it would like him to play but he has an ideal skill set to play running back: vision, burst, aggressivness and flat-out play making ability. Brown is one of those players too electric not to play offense.
• I think teams with difficult nonleague schedules are going to find themselves in much better standing when things get tense in about a month. Now, this depends on the difficulty of a given team's league but a team like Colony (4-1) needs to stack its nonleague schedule given the lack of playoff success of its own Mt. Baldy League. But a team on the rise like Damien (1-4) runs the risk of being so beat up after taking on four top-notch teams, including two defending CIF champs, that it may not have enough left for Sierra League play. I'm curious to see how Ayala, which has faced one high caliber team, will stack up with Chino Hills, which scheduled a much more difficult slate. Nonleague scheduling is a delicate thing given the fact it is done well in advance and there is plenty of unpredictibility involved. It'll be interesting to see how different philosophies effect the rest of the season.
• I think the Bonita-San Dimas game, being played on Friday, creates one of the two best atmosphere's I've seen in California high school football. Only the Redlands-Redlands East Valley game is comparable in my mind. I haven't covered a state championship game but Bonita-San Dimas is a more charged atmosphere than any of the CIF championship games I've been to. Both schools have bye weeks before the game so as to create as much hype as possible. They participate in non-football competitions leading up to the game, for example, seeing who can raise more money for charity. It's just a good old-fashioned rivalry that lives up to the billing.

Leave a comment. Ask a question. Or e-mail me at clay.fowler@inlandnewspapers.com

I had a nice conversation with Don Lugo High School running back/safety Steven Bethley yesterday for this story.

The senior with scholarship offers from San Diego State and Colorado State sent film of his first four games - Don Lugo has won two straight to pull to .500 - to Washington, UCLA and Fresno State this week at the request of the coaches recruiting him from the respective schools. The 6-foot, 200-pounder won't have much footage of his kick returning. After a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown in the season opener, Bethley has been kicked to twice in four games.... including punts and kickoffs. That, however, is just a small part of his story as you'll discover if you click on the link above.

Both of these teams are fast gaining confidence, CIF-SS Eastern Division No. 2 Kaiser (2-1) with a shutout of a Cajon team last week that entered averaging over 50 points per game and Central Division No. 5 Colony (3-1) with non-league wins over teams ranked first and second in their Divisions before the Titans knocked them off. Something has to give when these two clash tonight but their defenses aren't much for charity.

POINTS OF EMPHASIS
If points weren't already hard enough to come by, this game will likely be shortened due to the ground-oriented style of each of these teams. Of course that's probably a good thing... it's safe to say the shorter this game, the better for each team's health.

"Oh, yeah," Colony coach Anthony Rice said, "there will be some hitting."

"I was in the first graduating class at Don Lugo. So, how does it feel to break the so-called curse of the MIlk Can? It feels damn good."

- Don Lugo head coach Rick Martin after his Conquistadores ended a 17-year losing streak to crosstown rival Chino with a 35-0 win on Friday in the Milk Can game.

Albeit in a losing effort, Montclair running back Terrence Charles rushed for 284 yards on 33 carries Friday night. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior's lone TD gave Montclair a 7-6 second-quarter lead but Blythe Palo Verde Valley's 20 unanswered points dropped Montclair in too deep a hole during the Cavaliers' eventual 26-21 loss.

After he was ineligible for all but two games last season, Charles, a Division-I caliber talent, according to Montclair coach Rick Ward, is making his mark. The Cavaliers dropped to 1-2 on the season but that third playoff spot in the Mt. Baldy League could be within their grasp.

Runner-up: Damien's Phillip Sainz had 246 yards of total offense in the Spartans' 24-0 win over Claremont Friday. The senior running back rushed for 130 yards on 23 carries and caught two passes for 116 yards, including an 82-yard screen pass for a TD.

You do the math...

• Chino Hills is undoubtedly a CIF-championship caliber team.
• Colony beat Chino Hills, 22-6, on Friday.

By my calculations, Colony is, at the very least, back in the discussion. Friday was the Titans' second legit win in as many weeks. With a 25-20 win two weeks ago, they knocked Diamond Ranch from its perch atop the CIF-SS Southeast Division rankings.

"People thought we'd go 0-5 with this schedule," Colony head coach Anthony Rice said of a nonleague slate with Kaiser and Alta Loma remaining. "With what we're doing, I'm impressed."

Despite Colony's CIF-SS Central Division titles in '06 and '07, the question for some people is: would Colony have collected all that hardware had the Baseline and Sierra Leagues joined the Central Division prior to last season?

For the first time since their championship runs began, the Titans (2-1) defeated a Sierra/Baseline League team not named Alta Loma. Of course, a few things need to be qualified about the win over Chino Hills.

• I think this year's Chino Hills team is the best I've seen at the school in three years. The second-ranked Huskies may not have the Division-I talent of two years ago - Corey Harkey (UCLA), Michael Harris (Fresno State), etc. - but they're strong in the right spots. The defense is the strength of the team, for a change. And Chino Hills is better at the quarterback position with Ryan Verdugo than it has been in three years.
• I think Los Osos' Sean Alston is a flat-out football player. He's only 5-10, 185 pounds and he probably doesn't have a blazing 40 time, but the two-way player simply knows how to play football. In two games he has 12 receptions for 208 yards and two TDs but that hardly does him justice. He has already shut down the best receiver in the Inland Valley, holding Colony's Kenneth Scott to 19 yards Week 0. But his impact isn't limited to offense and defense, he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score, the only touchdown in the second half of Los Osos 47-21 loss to a talented Riverside North team on Thursday.
• I think Chaffey might actually be equipped to add a passing element to its offense via the QB-TE duo of Jacob Ahmad and Christian Sanders. Tigers coach Chris Brown likes to talk about throwing the ball more but after watching the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Sanders haul in five receptions for 72 yards and a TD in Friday's 28-14 loss to Chino Hills, I think I actually believe him this year. Granted, Chaffey fell behind 28-0 but during the desperate comeback maybe the Tigers learned something about themselves when Ahmad passed for 105 yards in the second half.

Claremont High School junior receiver Tanner Kuramata caught 10 passes for 173 yards Friday night, including a 55-yard touchdown to set the tone in Claremont's 31-28 win over Bonita. Entering its season opener, Claremont had a combined two wins during its last two seasons while Bonita has made the playoffs three years running.

Runner up: Colony High School cornerback Jered Bell, who had two interceptions, including one that set up the game-winning drive in Colony's 25-20 win on Friday over the top-ranked team in the CIF-SS Southeast Division, Diamond Ranch.

This game's determining factor is clear to Chaffey coach Chris Brown. Of course, games involving Chaffey usually aren't wrapped in perplexity.

Chaffey throws the ball a handful of times on a busy night; the rest of the time "you know what's coming, but they get the whole student body moving in the same direction," Chino Hills coach Derek Bub said.

The heavyweights of the class will be leading the way - Chaffey returned the entire hulking offensive line that helped it to a Mt. Baldy League title last year - but Chino Hills has a way to combat that.

"It'll be our size," Brown said, "against their athleticism."

The Chaffey High School senior running back played just one half in Friday's 34-10 win over Alta Loma but still managed to pile up 229 yards and three TDs on just 19 carries. THAT'S 12 YARDS A CARRY. And he played defense.

Douglas' performance didn't come against stellar competition seeing as Friday marked the first game under new head coach Jose Fuentes for an Alta Loma team that went 4-6 last season. But Douglas was out of the game after the first possession of the second half. In other words, he was on pace for circa 400 yards and 6 TDs.

Chaffey's glued-to-the-ground offense is far from diverse, allowing Douglas to accumulate that many carries in two quarters. But the defense knows to play the run and still nearly a third of Douglas' carries went for over 10 yards. Splitting time as a junior last season, Douglas ran for 1,387 yards and 12 TDs. It'll be fun to see what he can do as the primary option this year.

• I think Los Osos HS is glad to have offensive coordinator Matt Bechtel back after he spent a year at Chaffey College. The Grizzlies' short-passing scheme was nicely tailored for QB Blake Loncar in his first start, a 31-12 win over Colony Thursday. The play calling was exemplary too, capped by a wide-receiver pass for the game-clinching TD.
• I think Rancho Cucamonga tight end Randall Telfer looks like a different person after adding 20 pounds over the summer. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound USC-bound senior defied logic by getting bigger and faster (via speed training). He only caught two shovel passes in Rancho's 27-14 win over Damien Friday but he glided through the defense for a 33-yard TD with one of them. He's going to have a monster year.
• I think Colony is a better team than the squad that went 5-6 last season. The Titans have a talented defense and a good enough running game. Their 31-12 loss to Los Osos on Thursday was closer than the score indicated. It was 14-6 in the 4th quarter and 17-6 with 6:30 left in the game before Los Osos scored two long TDs. Colony plays a brutal nonleague schedule but it'll contend for a Mt. Baldy League title and have a better showing in the playoffs this season.

Don Lugo High School's George Uko, scout.com's third-ranked defensive tackle in the nation - "I'm still trying to move up to No. 1," he said - has pared his list of 14 scholarship offers to five: USC, Cal, Oregon, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound senior who runs a 4.93 40 has scheduled trips to Cal (next week), Tennessee (Oct. 10) and Oregon (Nov. 14).

"I'll probably make my decision after I take my trips," Uko said. "It's hard to believe all this is happening to a kid from Don Lugo."

Had Terrence Charles been eligible last season, the Montclair High School football team could have made the playoffs - a season after going 0-10. This according to head coach Rick Ward, who took over last year following the winless 2007 campaign.

Well, Charles IS eligible this year. The Division-I talent will take over at running back for a Montclair team that "lost four games in the fourth quarter that would have put us in the playoffs," according to Ward.

The 5-10, 175 pound Charles' ineligibility expired in time for the final two games of last season. According to MaxPreps.com, he rushed for 52 yards on 16 carries in a lopsided loss to Colony. But, in the season finale against Garey he took his lone reception for a 56-yard touchdown and piled up 91 yards on just six carries. "He could have run for 100 touchdowns if I would have left him in," said Ward.

Last year appears to have been the year for Ontario High's football team.

The result of a banner 2008 season: a second-place finish in the Mt. Baldy League and a swift exit from the playoffs courtesy of a 42-21 loss to Menifee Paloma Valley (to Ontario's credit, Paloma Valley lost their next game by just 8 to eventual CIF champ Rancho Cucamomga).

Ontario returns just three players that started a game last season, all of which are linemen. EVERY SINGLE SKILL PLAYER IS GONE. Ontario coach Steve Randall is saying all the right things about trying to prove he's built a program, but he isn't veiling understandably lowered expectations.

"We did a lot to turn the corner last year as a football program," fourth-year coach Randall said. "We might be able to make a run for the playoffs but we also realize there will be a lot of trial and errror. "

However, Randall proclaimed this year's team potentially more talented than 2008 squad.

"They've got those two guys," Montclair coach Rick Ward said, "But two guys can do a lot of damage."

Those "two guys" on the Don Lugo High School football team are: defensive lineman George Uko (perhaps the most dynamic player to emerge from the Inland Valley in my three years here) and RB/FS Steven Bethley, a potential Pac-10 player.

A 6-foot-4, five-star defensive tackle who runs a 4.9 40 - he was 296 pounds at his last weigh in - Uko is rated the third best in the country at his position by scout.com. (He'll play defensive end for Don Lugo) He has already received 19 scholarship offers.

"He's getting recruited," Don Lugo coach Rick Martin said, "by just about every school in the nation."

Garey High School hasn't exactly been a college football factory of late (it hasn't made the playoffs in nine years, among other shreds of evidence). But the youthful Vikings have, not one, but two Division-I recruits who could come into their own this season.

Junior wide receiver Dominique Williams (6-3, 180) and junior offensive tackle Chris Jimenez (6-4, 285) are drawing interest in Pomona despite a team that has produced seven wins in three years. The scholarship offers haven't begun to arrive yet but "I imagine it will happen real soon," says Garey first-year coach Leonard Hudson.

A Garey team returning six starters on each side of the ball has the talent to challenge for a playoff spot in the Mt. Baldy League. Whether that talent can be harnessed remains to be seen.

The bad news was Williams, Jimenez and a host of juniors were forced into action as sophomores when several seniors quit the team. The good news is Williams, Jiminez and a host of juniors were forced into action as sophomores when several seniors quit the team.

Garey didn't attend any passing tournaments this summer. The Vikings "just concentrated on ourselves," says Hudson. "We've got a lot of young talent, so you've just gotta be patient with it and develop it."

"You've gotta be careful with a situation like this," continued Hudson, who coached for 14 years at Pomona High School before coaching linebackers at Baldwin Park HS last year. "Kids come off a losing season, they're skeptical about buying in. They want to be sure about what's going on with the program. Being in Pomona, I've experienced kids quitting a lot, so I know you've got to be careful."

The theories are numerous:
1. Colony's playoff division doubled in difficulty.
2. The team was young (just 15 of the 53 on the roster were seniors)
3. You can't win championships EVERY year.

Whatever the reason, Colony had a disappointing 2008 by the lofty standards set with consecutive CIF-SS Central Division championships in '06 and '07. The once-invincible Titans finished third in their own league after a streak of 12 consecutive Mt. Baldy League wins was halted last season.

"We don't want to make any excuses but we just weren't ready to play last year," says Colony's Anthony Rice who has two CIF titles in three years as a head coach. "It humbled us to become a 5-6 team."

Chaffey High School has got to be one of the only places where offensive line may be a more glamorous position than quarterback... both spend the majority of their time blocking.

Famous for their gritty style, Chaffey's clock-killing ground game may be better this year than it was when the Tigers claimed the Mt. Baldy League title last season for the first time since 2005 because 12th-year head coach Chris Brown is returning four of his five starting linemen - and they're all juniors.

Sorry for the delay...

Offensive MVP - Ronald Douglas, RB, Jr., Chaffey
Offensive MVP - Herman Huezo, QB, Sr., Ontario
Defensive MVP - Deveion Bauman, S, Sr., Chaffey

The Baseline League cleaned house at the All-CIF football meeting Wednesday, claiming 19 of the 40 first-team selections.

To nobody's surpirse, Rancho Cucamonga's nine were the most from any single team. The Central Division champion Cougars also produced both the offensive and defensive MVPs.

Offensive MVP: Greg Watson, Jr., QB
Defensive MVP: Daniel Fonua, Sr., LB

He has been contemplating it ever since he received a scholarship offer from them on Oct. 23 - the same day he committed to San Diego State - but Colony defensive tackle/offensive lineman Josh Andrews has officially changed his verbal commitment to Oregon State, according to Colony coach Anthony Rice.

The 6-foot-3, 265-pound senior, who is being recruited primarily as an offensive guard, is yet to take any of his official trips but plans to visit Oregon State, Colorado State and Washington State, who is interested but hasn't offered.

Colony defensive tackle/offensive lineman Josh Andrews, who committed to San Diego State Oct. 23, said he'll probably rescind his verbal pledge this week after receiving offers from Oregon State and Colorado State.

"(San Diego State) was my first offer and I probably didn't check out other options enough before I committed," said the 6-foot-2, 260-pound Andrews. "I'm having second thoughts. I'll probably end up at Oregon State."

Andrews is being recruited as an offensive lineman, though he plays both ways at Colony. In the next month he'll take official visits to Oregon State, Colorado State and Washington State, who is interested but hasn't offered.

Colony High School defensive tackles Quayshawne Buckley and Josh Andrews verbally committed to Washington State and San DIego State, respectively, on Thursday, according to Colony coach Anthony Rice.

Andrews, however, may change his mind after receiving offers from Oregon State and Washington State hours after issuing his commitment.

Each year we eagerly await a slip-up from Colony so we can declare the two-time defending CIF-SS Central Division champs' run over.

Three straight losses to begin this season was finally it... or not.

There have been two notable quarterback changes since the beginning of the high school season.

Two-time defending CIF-SS Central Division champ Colony inserted sophomore Kori Grant into the lineup after an 0-3 start. Coach Anthony Rice didn't have to wait long for results. The Titans (2-3) have won their last two.

Claremont made a change for an entirely different reason. After their sophomore starter, 6-foot-4, rocket-armed Daniel Kessler, completed 20 of 22 passes in his debut - Claremont's first win in 12 games - he broke his arm in the first quarter of the second game of the season.

Former Colony High School basketball player Tyler Lamb has officially transferred to Santa Ana Mater Dei.

There has been speculation for weeks that the 6-foot-5 junior, who committed to UCLA on Aug. 25, would transfer to the Orange County basketball powerhouse, but Lamb wouldn't confirm it until he began school this week.

With all that is being written about the transfer, much of it untrue, according to Lamb, the family is guarded about the details of the decision.

Speculation about whether UCLA-committed guard Tyler Lamb will attend Mater Dei hasn't been confirmed yet, but this much is clear: he isn't returning to Colony High School.

"We're three weeks into school," Colony basketball coach Jerry DeFabiis said Tuesday. "He's not coming back here. He didn't play with us all summer."

Colony High School guard Tyler Lamb, who verbally committed to UCLA Aug. 25, may be transferring to defending state champion Santa Ana Mater Dei. The 6-foot-5 junior said a decision has been made but he couldn't confirm rumors he'd joining the Orange County basketball powerhouse. His destination will be revealed soon enough

"Wherever I go to school on Monday, that's where I'm going to play this year,"
Lamb said Thursday. "But I can't talk about it yet."

My feeling after talking to him is that Lamb won't be at Colony next year. He indicated that discussion of transferring has been prevalent in the Lamb household for some time.

"My dad always wanted me to go to a big basketball school," he said.

Don Lugo High School's Charlie Hinojosa is going pro.

The third baseman drafted in the 39th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the New York Mets on June 5, confirmed he will sign with the organization.

Don Lugo High School's A.J. Pickens verbally committed to Arizona State on Tuesday. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior will play slot receiver for the Sun Devils after serving in a variety of roles at Don Lugo, including running back, cornerback and kick returner.

Pickens received scholarship offers from six other schools: Arizona, Washington, Oregon State, Utah, San Diego State and Fresno State. He took official recruiting trips to all but Utah and San Diego State. The decision boiled down to Arizona and Arizona State.

Player of the year: A.J. Springer, Miller QB
Over 2,200 passing yards, over 1,700 rushing yards, 45 combined touchdowns, a completion percentage of 71. His team went 10-2, would have made the semifinals if the D hadn't given up a devastating last-minute touchdown drive. This was an easy choice.

Coach of the year: Tom Inglima, Ayala
0-10 in 2006 to 7-4 in 2007. From last place to second place in the Sierra League and a playoff berth in his second year at Ayala. This one was easier.

Best game of the year: Chaffey 30, La Quinta 28 (Week 4)
Keep in mind, this was the best game that I personally witnessed, not necessarily the best game of the year. Deveion Bauman (4 TD's - two receiving, one kickoff return, one interception return) dueled with La Quinta RB Kamani Harper (223 yards, 3 TD's), eventually catching the winning touchdown over Harper as time expired. Doesn't get a whole lot better than this.

Play of the year: Diamond Ranch QB Joe Carrillo's 83-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Sermons with 26 seconds left to give the Panthers a 28-24 win over Los Altos. Sermons, a 6-foot-4 speedy cornerback rarely plays offense. He was only needed for one play in this game, the only play of Diamond Ranch's final possession. He ran a go route down the right sideline, made a leaping catch over double coverage and ran the final 40 yards into the end zone.

Most clutch performance: Colony QB Jeff Ginolfi's 16-for-21, 326-yard, 5 TD performance in the CIF-SS Central Division championship game, a 41-14 Colony win. This was extra sweet for the senior considering he was the second option on a team that ran the ball 66 precent of the time.

Chino High School head football coach Manny Saiz stepped down on Thursday, two games from completing his second season at the school.
Saiz, reached by phone Thursday night, said the move was for personal reasons.
"I've just got some personal things to figure out right now," Saiz said.
Assistant coach Matt Montello, who will take over on an interim basis, said the move centered on a disagreement.

Interestingly, the week before Mt. Baldy League play got underway last season, Colony lost to an Upland team that didn't even crack the playoff field. Then Colony ripped off nine wins in a row to take not only the Mt. Baldy League title, but the CIF-SS Central Division championship. So, guess what happened Friday? Colony lost to Upland...