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Most of the winter sports' league races have been decided, but there are a few with unfinished business heading into the final two days of the regular season.

After the Claremont girls soccer team's 2-0 victory over Ayala on Tuesday broke a tie for first place between the two, the Wolfpack needs to defeat West Covina South Hills tonight to secure an outright Sierra League championship.

The Ontario Christian boys basketball team will face Aquinas in a de facto Ambassador League championship game tonight in San Bernardino a year after the Knights broke a first-place tie with Aquinas with a win in the penultimate game of last year's regular season.

The Hacienda League girls soccer race took a turn on Tuesday when Diamond Bar's win over Bonita pulled the Brahmas into a first-place tie. Bonita needs a win over a struggling Rowland team to earn its share of the league title while Diamond Bar's road to at least a share of the league championship requires it to defeat a Los Altos team that won their first meeting, 3-2, on Jan. 23.

Jeremy Hemsley and Isaiah McCullough are technically in their first year of high school, but it's about that time of the basketball season when they're no longer considered freshman.

With Damien High School center Chris Reyes commanding much of the attention, the youthful duo controlled significant portions of the Spartans' 48-38 win over Chino Hills Friday night. Hemsley scored a game-high 11 points and McCullough chipped in seven points while helping the 6-foot-7 Reyes control the paint for the top-ranked team in CIF-SS Division 3AAA.

With two games remaining in the regular season, Damien (22-2, 8-0) assured itself at least a share of the Sierra League championship while ending the title hopes of Chino Hills (15-9, 5-3), the No. 5 team in Division 1A.

MVPs: Jackie Macy, 12, St. Lucy's; Taylor Scott, 12, Claremont

First team
Briana Holmes, 12, Claremont
Ariana Holmes, 11, Claremont
Marisa Gomez, 12, South Hills
Shelley Anderson, 11, Chino Hills
Karly Shockey, 12, Chino Hills
Heather Tiveman, 12, Chino Hills
Jasmine Warmington, 12, St. Lucy's
Ariannna Sifuentes, 12, St. Lucy's
Erin Clark, 10, Ayala

MVP: Travis Santiago, Charter Oak
Offensive players of the year: Chris Gilchrist (Charter Oak), Kurt Scoby (Charter Oak)
Defensive player of the year: Naim Colbert (Chino Hills)

FIRST TEAM
offense
QB: Andrew Chavez (Chino Hills)
RB: Jamel Hart (South Hills)
RB: Jordan Robinson (Ayala)
RB: Jalen Castille (Damien)
RB: Louis Napoles (Chino Hills)
WR: Jack Austin (Chino Hills)
WR: Aaren Vaughs (Charter Oak)
WR: Jaime Canada (South Hills)
WR: Bryce Bobo (Charter Oak)
WR: Joshua Savage (Damien)

Will Lester/Staff Photographer

Nick Baiz was assuredly not the only one praying.

Trailing by five points with 6.6 seconds remaining in a CIF-SS Inland Division first-round playoff game, the Rancho Cucamonga High School football coach had his request answered when Marcus Bratton hauled in a Hail Mary to breathe life back into the Cougars season with a 39-38 win over Chino Hills on Friday night.

Rancho Cucamonga (10-1) drove 70 yards in the final 26 seconds, punctuating the game-winning drive when Bratton hauled in the 38-yard jump ball a yard inside the back of the end zone to complete an 11-point comeback in the final five minutes.

"All I saw was the ball hit my hands," Bratton said. "I looked up, tried to spot it. I just squeezed it. It's indescribable."

These two teams reached the semifinals in the CIF-SS Inland Division last season, but haven't played since a first-round playoff game in 2005. This pair of second-place teams is sporting plenty of playoff experience that could carry the winner of tonight's game a long way.

Recent success: Both of these teams won their leagues last season before marching to the semifinals of a competitive Inland Division where they lost to the top two seeds. Chino Hills played top-seeded Corona Centennial its closest game to date in a 42-23 loss while Rancho Cucamonga went down in double-overtime to second-seeded Vista Murrieta.

"It's not like we're just happy to be in the playoffs," Rancho Cucamonga coach Nick Baiz said. "We expect to win some games. We've been here before and they have too."

Aram Tolegian of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune is reporting that Charter Oak quarterback Travis Santiago sprained his ankle when he stepped on his helmet prior to practice yesterday and is unlikely to play tonight against Chino Hills for the Sierra League championship. By all accounts Santiago is the driving force behind the Chargers' push for a league title that is vitally important to a program that struggled last season in its debut in the Sierra League and CIF-SS Inland Division. The senior who has thrown for 2,336 yards with 19 TDs and three interceptions was placed in a walking boot and given crutches, but there is still a chance he will play.

The Chino Hills High School football team provides the perfect proving ground for Covina Charter Oak when the two teams meet tonight for the Sierra League championship. Charter Oak (8-1, 4-0) will have a chance to defeat the reigning power in the league, a three time defending champion that reached the semifinals of the CIF-SS Inland Division playoffs last season.

The Chargers, conversely, finished third last season and exited the playoffs in the first round via a 21-point loss. Charter Oak's first season in both the Sierra League and the Inland Division is indeed a small sample size, but that's not stopping the doubters from proclaiming that the program's success in a lower division simply won't translate.

There was ample hype when a program fresh off consecutive CIF-SS Southeast Division championships joined one of the toughest divisions in Southern California last season.
Was 2010 just a down season for Charter Oak? Was Chino Hills peaking last year? Those questions can go a long way toward being answered tonight.

"We know how much this game means to them," Chino Hills coach Derek Bub said. "We know that we're pretty talented and we've won the league championship three years in a row. We know the league championship goes through Chino Hills and we have a target on our backs."

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Damien senior Chris Reyes verbally committed Monday night to play basketball at St. Mary's next season. The 6-foot-7 Reyes, who averaged 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds last season, will join a program that has reached the NCAA tournament three times since 2005 including a run to the sweet 16 two years ago. The school is located in the Bay area.

Reyes, a first-team all-Valley selection the last two seasons, led Damien to a 26-4 record last season, a Sierra League championship and helped the Spartans advance to the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 3A playoffs where they lost by three to eventual champion Harvard-Westlake.

The Covina Charter Oak High School football program built its reputation winning CIF-SS Southeast Division championships and Miramonte League titles.

Last season the Chargers found themselves in a different league, in more than one sense.

After 19 consecutive league victories and two straight CIF titles, Charter Oak needed overtime in its final regular-season game just to qualify for the postseason, where it made a swift 28-7 first-round exit. Again this season it's the Chargers who are the recipient of all the buzz. The next five weeks will determine whether it's warranted.

"It was obviously a step up for them last year," Damien coach Greg Gano said. "The Sierra League is tougher than the league they came from, but they've got the best quarterback around. How he goes, they go."

The Sierra League volleyball teams aren't making it easy on the CIF-SS voters. As of Monday, Ayala rose to the No. 10 spot in Division 2AA to give the league three teams in the top 10. Tuesday, two of those teams lost. If that wasn't enough, it created a four-way tie for second place behind defending CIF champion St. Lucy's, which is ranked No. 1.

No. 3 Chino Hills, which shared the league title with St. Lucy's last season and faced it in the 2010 CIF-SS championship match, fell to West Covina South Hills on Tuesday. Ayala, which had already beaten South Hills, lost to Claremont on Tuesday. That left Ayala, South Hills, Chino Hills and Claremont all tied for second place with a 2-2 league mark.

"I think we probably have the best league in the area," Claremont coach Chris Duarte-McDermott said. "Put us all in another league and we'd probably all be challenging for league titles. It's going to be a dogfight to get out of league but whoever gets out is going to be well prepared for CIF."

St. Lucy's may be two games up in the standings, but it took a five-game match and then some for the Regents to outlast Chino Hills when they met for the first time this season last week.

GLENDORA - Of the five times Sean Douglas thought his team had lost Thursday night, the St. Lucy's Priory volleyball coach was the most certain when his libero, Arianna Sifuentes, dove over her team's bench to save a ball with St. Lucy's trailing 20-19 in the fifth game.

Of the five times Douglas thought his team had won, the only time he was certain came two points later, when Veronica LaPierre's kill bounced off the hands of a Chino Hills blocker out of bounds to put an end to No. 1 St. Lucy's five-game marathon of a victory over their Sierra League foe in a rematch of last season's CIF-SS championship match.

After defeating the third-ranked Huskies 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 22-20, St. Lucy's has beaten Chino Hills in the last three meetings between the Inland Valley volleyball giants. The Regents (12-3, 3-0) outlasted Chino Hills (14-3, 2-1) in their final regular-season meeting last year to split and earn a share of the Sierra League title, only for the two to meet again in the CIF-SS Division 2AA final, where St. Lucy's prevailed again. If their first meeting this season was any indication, this year could be even more intense.

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."

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
Claremont receiver Andrei Tarankow pushes off Bonita's Garrett Horine (23) during the second quarter of Claremont's 18-15 win.

When a backup quarterback scores a team's first offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter, it's usually a sign that the outcome has long since been decided.

With Bonita, the No. 2 team in the CIF-SS Southeast Division, taking on a Claremont team that graduated 18 starters from last year's team, it looked as if plenty had decided the winner before Friday night's game began. But thanks to a gritty effort by its defense and some late field position, it was Claremont that emerged with an 18-15 victory over Bonita.
The Wolfpack (2-0) gained just 191 yards, 73 of which came on a reception that preceded a blocked field goal.

Dylan Kegans connected on two field goals and Claremont's two touchdowns consisted of an 87-yard interception return by Stan Reeder late in the first half and a 13-yard scamper by shifty backup quarterback Paul Manus for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:02 to play.

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.

Coming off fantastic 2010 seasons, Bonita (1-0) and Claremont (1-0) began 2011 with a step toward proving they have ample replacements for their departed stars. Bonita, the No. 2 team in the CIF-SS Southeast Division, rolled to a 20-point victory over San Dimas while Claremont rallied for a win over La Palma Kennedy.

Not looking back at quarterback: The biggest shoes to fill at both schools are at quarterback after the departure of Claremont 3,500-yard passer Daniel Kessler and Bonita's Garrett Pendleton, who led the Bearcats to the CIF-SS Southeast Division championship game and threw for 2,000 yards despite missing the first four games of the season.

Claremont's Gabe Schaper wasn't expecting to be the starter until junior Matt Simko transferred in July. The senior's first pass attempt as a starter was a 76-yard touchdown and his last an 18-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:54 remaining in the 24-20 victory.

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

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

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

After five years as the Ayala High School head football coach, Tom Inglima was forced to transfer to Chino High in order to keep a teaching job, losing his position as football coach in the process. Budget cuts were cited as the reason for the transfer of Inglima, who was the least tenured of the physical education teachers at Ayala.

"It has long been the policy of Ruben S. Ayala to have the varsity football coach as an assigned teacher," said Julie Gobin, the Chino Valley Unified School District director of communications. "Given Mr. Inglima's transfer to Chino High, a new varsity football coach will be named within the next two weeks."

Inglima turned the Ayala football program around, literally going from winless to league champs in his first three years. After a 0-10 season in his first year, Inglima led the Bulldogs to a 4-1 mark in the Sierra League in 2007 while earning Inland Valley Coach of the Year from the Daily Bulletin. In 2008, Ayala went 9-3 and claimed a share of the league title.

MVP: Joseph Keller, Chino Hills, Jr.

First team
Keith Cooper, Ayala, Sr.
Kory Brown, Charter Oak, Fr.
Oscar Montenegro, Charter Oak, Jr.
Nathanial Acosta, Chino Hills, Sr.
Chris Kriarte, Chino Hills, Jr.
Cameron Pongs, Chino Hills, Sr.
Kevin Sprague, Chino Hills, Sr.
Antonio Gonzales, Damien, Sr.
Griffin Lord, Damien, Sr.
Adrian DeHorta, South Hills, So.
Ty France, South Hills, Jr.
Dominique Martinez, South Hills, Sr.
Jeff Moran, South Hills, Sr.
C.J. Saylor, South Hills, Jr

MVP: Nikki Girard, Chino Hills, Jr.

First team
Brianna Celaya, Ayala, Jr.
Stevie Knapp, Ayala, Jr.
Sarah Moore, Ayala, Jr.
Jennifer Gonzalez, Charter Oak, Sr.
Nicki Sprague, Charter Oak, So.
Garie Blando, Chino Hills, Jr.
Paige Gumz, Chino Hills, Jr.
Nikki Innamorato, Chino Hills, Jr.
Patricia Parks, Chino Hills, Fr.
Faith Song, Claremont, Sr.
Brandi Harkness, St. Lucy's, Jr.
Danielle O'Toole, St. Lucy's, Jr.
Laura Swan, St. Lucy's, Jr.
Sam Nieves, South Hills, Sr.
Lexi Robles, South Hills, So.
Britney Rodriguez, South Hills, Jr.
Kristen Stewart, South Hills, Jr.

After four years on the job, Claremont baseball coach Steve Jackson was fired following the season, according to Claremont athletic director Rick Dutton. Jackson, who was a firefighter in addition to a baseball coach, failed to lead Claremont to a playoff berth in his four seasons.

"When you're an off-campus coach, for some two or three hours is enough but baseball requires a little more than that," Dutton said. "Part of the issue with Steve was that he was a little too involved (as a fireman) and we were concerned that he didn't have enough time for baseball."

Claremont is currently accepting applications for the coaching vacancy and hopes to have someone in place by July.

The St. Lucy's softball team could only survive so long at the rate of less than two hits per game. The Regents managed only one in Thursday's CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinal -- a total that was good enough for victory in its first-round game -- but it wasn't enough in a 4-0 loss to No. 1 seed Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

A three-run home run in the fifth inning, a couple of steals and a squeeze play in the second inning represented the scoring for Oaks Christian (28-5), which managed just five hits off St. Lucy's junior Danielle O'Toole (10-10). With four hits combined in its last three games, the last two of which were 1-0 wins, St. Lucy's (16-13) couldn't keep the streak alive.

"To win the last two was remarkable," Regents coach Ryan Nuveman said. "(This season) was a roller coaster that I didn't want to get off. We had to win six of our last seven games just to get in the playoffs, so to even get here was all you could ask for."

Scott Fisch explored the possibility, but the West Covina South Hills High School softball coach wasn't about to play down the significance of Tuesday's extra-inning, 4-3 win over first-place Chino Hills.

"I guess I could give the politically correct answer that it was just another league game," Fisch said. "No. This was huge. Chino Hills is a solid team and to get a win was huge."

Ten innings certainly is a huge number, but even bigger is the fact South Hills (14-5, 8-2 Sierra League) pulled even with Chino Hills (16-5, 7-2) atop the league standings thanks to an RBI double from first baseman Sabrina Perez with two outs in the 10th. Chino Hills carried a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning but South Hills capitalized on an error and a walk to scratch out the tying run, thanks to shortstop Kristen Stewart's two-out RBI single.

South Hills has beaten Chino Hills both times they have faced each other this season, the first meeting a 6-2 win on April 6 at South Hills. The teams will play for sole possession of first place on Thursday at Big League Dreams in Chino Hills.

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.

Claremont's Brandon Tuliaupupu made a late change of plans, accepting a late offer from UCLA on Monday after having made a verbal commitment to Washington State on January 16, according to Claremont head coach Mike Collins. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive tackle had 63 tackles and four sacks in helping Claremont to a second-place finish in the Sierra League this season. Rivals.com rates the three-star senior the No. 52 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 98 player in California.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
St. Lucy's UCLA-bound senior Emily Donohoe (background) scored 10 goals to lead the CIF-SS Division 3's top-ranked Regents to an 18-8 win over No. 7 Ayala in a Sierra League match Thursday at Ayala High School.

Ayala water polo coach Paul Marceau aptly rephrased the question: "I'm trying to figure out what she doesn't do well."

She is St. Lucy's senior Emily Donohoe.

What she did Thursday evening was pound the back of the Ayala net with 10 goals to lead St. Lucy's to a 18-8 victory.

The 2010 CIF-SS Division 3 Player of the Year, who has signed a letter of intent with UCLA, has propelled St. Lucy's (14-3, 3-0) to the No. 1 ranking this season. It doesn't appear the Regents will lose that spot anytime soon. Ayala (18-2, 2-1) which boasts a spectacular record and is accordingly ranked seventh in Division 3, was just a bump in the road for streaking St. Lucy's.

Claremont defensive tackle Brandon Tuliaupupu committed to Washington State Sunday night, according to Claremont head coach Mike Collins, choosing the Cougars over scholarship offers from Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico, UTEP and San Jose State. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound senior had 63 tackles and four sacks in helping Claremont to a second-place finish in the Sierra League this season. Rivals.com rates the three-star player the No. 52 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 98 players in California.

A mass of shaving cream wasn't the only thing Matt Dunn had to wipe off his face Friday night. There was probably a smile under there somewhere after the Damien boys basketball coach led his team to a 59-50 victory, the first victory at Chino Hills in the history of Damien's program.

Damien has won six playoff games in the past two years alone but hadn't beaten Sierra League rival Chino Hills in the teams' last six meetings.

"It means a lot because they're a great program and I have a great deal of respect for them," Dunn said. "We've been really close here in the fourth quarter but we've never found a way to win until tonight."

Damien 6-foot-7 junior Chris Reyes scored a game-high 19 points but it was his supporting cast that closed out the 15th victory in 16 games for the No. 4 team in CIF-SS Division 3A.

Co-MVPs: Jordyn Siko, Sr., Chino Hills; Deanna Dalton, Sr., St. Lucy's

First team
Jenna Nordschow, Sr., Ayala
Briana Holmes, Jr., Claremont
Shelley Anderson, So., Chino Hills
Tori Haebe, Sr., Chino Hills
Heather Trueman, Jr., Chino Hills
Marissa Gomez, Jr., South Hills
Arianna SiFuentes, Jr., St. Lucy's
Jasmine Warmington, Jr., St. Lucy's
Alissa Young, Sr., St. Lucy's

Player of the year: Ifo Ekpre-olomu, Chino Hills, Sr.
Co-offensive MVPs: Daniel Kessler, Claremont, Sr., Dennis Rufus, Charter Oak, Sr.
Defensive MVP: Auston Johnson, Chino Hills, Sr.

FIRST TEAM
Offense
QB: Vince Hernandez, South Hills, Sr.
QB: Travis Santiago, Charter Oak, Sr.
RB: Nate Harris, Chino Hills, Sr.
RB: Jamal Hart, South Hills, Jr.
RB: James Ramirez, Damien, Sr.
WR: Chris Gilchrist, Charter Oak, Jr.
WR: Josiah Thropay, Charter Oak, Sr.
WR: Scott Calles,Chino Hills, Sr.
WR: Aaron Dockery, Claremont, Jr.
WR: Tanner Kuramata, Claremont, Sr.
WR: Jack Reeder, Claremont, Sr.

Andrew Gates listened with a keen ear to University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyer's retirement announcement Dec. 8. For nearly identical reasons Gates made a retirement announcement of his own the previous night, stepping down as Damien's water polo coach after 13 years.

"It was funny the next day hearing (Meyer) say he had two daughters that played Division I volleyball and he had never neen them play," Gates said. "My kids are eight and 10. Coaching year round is a big commitment. It's tough to leave the team but I need to be the man at home with my own kids."

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
Corona Centennial quaterback Micahel Eubank (18) is brought down short of the goalline by Chino Hills' Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (rear), Steven Smith (15) and Adrian Brunson (32) during the first quarter Friday night in Chino Hills.

Not that it's much consolation, but Chino Hills did something no team had done to Corona Centennial all season. It lost by only 19 points.

Centennial, the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS Inland Division, led a game fourth-seeded Chino Hills squad by just five points in the fourth quarter Friday night but pulled away for a 42-23 win to advance to next week's CIF final. The previous smallest margin of victory this season for Centennial (13-0), ranked sixth in the country by Maxpreps.com, was 29 points.

A Centennial team averaging over 55 points per game didn't compile its usual outlandish offensive totals but 6-foot-5 quarterback Michael Eubank threw for 205 yards and a score and rushed for 122 and a touchdown. After a 300-yard day in the second round, running back Barrinton Collins had 64 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.

Juggernaut Corona Centennial (12-0), the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS Inland Division, will take on fourth-seeded Chino Hills (10-2) tonight for the right to play in next week's CIF-SS INland Division finals. In the semifinals for the second season in a row - albeit in the much tougher Inland Division as opposed to last year's Central Division - Chino Hills will host a Centennial team that hasn't played a game decided by less than 29 points all season.

55.9 is not a misprint: Yes, Corona Centennial is averaging 55.9 points per game, a total that dropped last week after a 52-23 win over an Upland team that allowed 10.7 points per game on its way to last season's CIF-SS Central Division championship. Centennial has yet to be held under 44 points this season behind the duo of quarterback Michael Eubank and running back Barrinton Collins.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Eubank, who has thrown for 2,300 yards and 20 touchdowns, was intercepted for just the second time this season against Upland. He is 28 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards with 17 touchdowns. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Collins has 1,929 yards and a whopping 34 touchdowns on the ground. They combined for 646 total yards last week.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (above, middle) had 106 yards rushing, a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and an interception in Chino Hills' 45-21 quarterfinal win over Etiwanda. Chino Hills will face Corona Centennial next week in the semifinals.

As Derek Bub walked off an empty football field at Chaffey High School, the Chino Hills head football coach's postgame celebratory yell broke a long silence. Friday night's CIF-SS Inland Division second-round game had been over for a while. After a 45-21 win over Etiwanda in the second round, fourth-seeded Chino Hills has scored 115 points in two playoff games.

A season after reaching the Central Division semifinals, the Huskies (10-2) will host No. 1 seed Corona Centennial in next week's semifinals.

"It feels good," Bub said. "We moved up a division, and a lot of people didn't think we could play in this division, but the kids stuck to it and got it done."

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

After meeting in the CIF-SS Central Division quarterfinals last season, Chino Hills and Etiwanda find themselves fighting for a berth in the semifinals again this year, only tonight's meeting between the two is in the more competitive Inland Division. Chino Hills emerged a 35-14 winner in last season's quarterfinal but lost a close one to eventual champ Upland in the semifinals.

Steeper road: While Etiwanda was a co-champion of the vaunted Baseline League last season, the Eagles didn't exactly take a similar path to the quarterfinals in 2010. Had Upland not claimed a comeback victory over Los Osos in the regular season finale, Etiwanda would have been relying on a coin flip to grant it access to the postseason.

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.

Chino Hills' highly recruited defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu verbally committed to Oregon this morning, he confirmed after the Huskies won their playoff opener 70-42 over Corona Friday night. The 5-foot-10 180-pound senior chose Oregon among scholarship offers from most of the Pac-10 save UCLA and USC, according to scout.com.

Ekpre-Olomu plays a variety of positions for Chino Hills, including wide receiver and running back but he set a school record with eight interceptions as a sophomore playing safety. Oregon plans to use him in the secondary, according to Ekpre-Olomu.

First round
Corona Centennial over Yucaipa
Chaparral over Upland
Redlands East Valley over Etiwanda
Chino Hills over Corona
Rancho Cucamonga over Murrieta Valley
Corona Roosevelt over Claremont
Norco over Redlands
Vista Murrieta over Charter Oak

Quarterfinals
Corona Centennial over Chaparral
Chino Hills over Redlands East Valley
Corona Roosevelt over Rancho Cucamonga
Norco over Vista Murrieta

Second-seeded Damien rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to down third-seeded Palos Verdes 11-9 in a CIF-SS DIvision 3 semifinal on Wednesday at Woollett Aquatics Center.
Trailing 7-6 earliy in the fourth, the Spartans scored five of the next six goals, taking an 11-8 lead. Damien had not led by more than 1 goal until the fourth quarter.
It is the fifth CIF Final in school history for Damien water polo and first since 2004.
Eric Osterberg scored four goals, Johnny Beal scored three and Aaron Avalos and Austin Miller had two apiece for Damien. Damien will play in the finals on Saturday at Woollett, at 5 p.m.

Entering the season having never made the playoffs in school history, the goal for the Chino Hills High School girls volleyball team was to simply perform well in league. Little did the Huskies know how much that would mean.

Chino Hills defeated Westlake Village Oaks Christian in four games in the CIF-SS Division 2AA semifinals Tuesday night to earn a spot in the final opposite Sierra League co-champion St. Lucy's on either Friday or Saturday.

"This means everything to us," Chino Hills coach Dana Buzzerio said. "And to play St. Lucy's in the final, that's exactly how we would want it to be."

The Huskies, who after splitting two regular-season matches with St. Lucy's won a coin flip that awarded them them top billing in the Sierra League and the No. 4 seed in Division 2AA, fell behind early Tuesday while St. Lucy's swept its semifinal. Chino Hills recovered to win by game scores of 20-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-18.

It took a little longer than expected, but the Sierra League football race finally delivered the parity expected upon the arrival of three historically proud programs to the league this season.

One of the newcomers, Claremont, was threatening to run away with the league title after early wins over defending league champion Chino Hills and another new arrival, two-time defending CIF champion Covina Charter Oak. It wasn't until Week 9 that the clouds rolled in but a once clear playoff scenario is as hazy as they come entering the regular season's final week.

"We could be league champions," Claremont coach Mike Collins said. "Or we could miss the playoffs."

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.

As good as Claremont's boys cross country team was, the Wolfpack was blocked from a league title by powerful Rancho Cucamonga.
Now in the Sierra League, the Wolfpack won its much-awaited league title on Tuesday at Mt. SAC. But maybe they didn't need to change leagues.

Both the Baseline and Sierra Leagues ran league finals at Mt. SAC and both on Tuesday. Rancho Cucamonga coach Terry Tierney and Claremont coach Rob Lander were joking they should bet a dinner on which team had the better team time. Turns out, Lander should've taken Tierney up on the bet. Claremont's team time of 80 minutes, 47 seconds was 12 seconds better than Rancho's 80:59. Had Claremont runners been in Rancho's race or vice versa, Claremont would've edged out Rancho in team score as well.

That performance Tuesday helped Claremont move past Rancho Cucamonga into the much-coveted No. 1 spot in the Inland Valley boys cross country rankings.
The teams will not meet in CIF; Claremont is in Division 2, while Rancho Cucamonga is in Division 1.

Claremont senior Aaron Dockery was the second-leading receiver in the Inland Valley before teammate Tanner Kuramata, the only player in the area with more receiving yards than him, went down with a broken arm two weeks ago. The 5-foot-9, 166-pound wideout has picked up the slack, to say the least. He had 14 receptions, three of which were touchdowns, for a school record 248 yards last week in a 42-13 win over Ayala.

In the last two weeks alone, Dockery has 26 catches for 452 yards and five touchdowns. After his apparent game-winning touchdown reception against Chino Hills was inadvertently whistled dead, he caught another game winner a few seconds later in a 31-30 Sierra League-opening win that has propelled Claremont to first place with two games remaining in the season. In all, Dockery has 61 receptions for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns this year.

With Glendora moving from the Sierra League to the Baseline League and Claremont from the Baseline to the Sierra, one would think the two schools can relate. Apparently that's not the case.

"This isn't the Sierra League Glendora was in," Claremont coach Mike Collins said. "It's a different league without Chino and Diamond Bar and with Charter Oak and South Hills."

In other words, an emerging Claremont team wasn't the only new addition to the new-look Sierra League. Gone are Chino and Diamond Bar, who are improved but posted a 1-19 combined record a season ago. Taking their place are Covina Charter Oak and West Covina South Hills programs who have six football CIF championships between them the last six years.

Those titles, however, were won in divisions lower than ones in which the Sierra League has been competing, begging the question, how will these storied programs measure up?

Defense meets offense in the Sierra League opener when Chino Hills (4-1), the No. 2 team in the CIF-SS Inland Division, travels to Claremont (4-1), an emerging team which sports one of the top passing offenses in Southern California.

The immovable object: Chino Hills' defense doesn't appear to have a weakness -- ask Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro, Redlands East Valley, Pomona and Lakewood Mayfair. Against one of the most difficult nonleague schedules in the area, Chino Hills allowed just 13.4 points per game.

The Huskies secondary features two Division I recruits in Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Nate Harris in addition to Scott Calles, who coach Derek Bub labeled vastly underrated. Wreaking havoc up front is 240-pound nose guard Auston Johnson.

When surveying the numbers of the Claremont High School football team, it's easy to get distracted by those other than in the win column.

After enduring a two-year stretch during which it won a total of two games, the Wolfpack has started its second consecutive season with four wins in its first five games. It's the statistics compiled by quarterback Daniel Kessler and his receiving tandem of Tanner Kuramata and Aaron Dockery, however, that are much more fun to talk about.

Kessler, a three-year starter, is the second leading passer in a CIF-Southern Section that consists of 567 schools. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior has thrown for 1,513 yards -- three less than Cerritos Gahr's D.J. Lopez, according to maxpreps.com.
Kuramata and Dockery rank No. 1 and 2 in the Inland Valley in receiving yardage at 120 and 103 yards per game, respectively.

In a potential playoff preview, Redlands East Valley (3-0), the fourth-ranked team in the CIF-SS Inland Division, takes on No. 5 Chino Hills (3-1) tonight.

Star power: Chino Hills possesses the most marquee players in this matchup, but Redlands East Valley may have the most evenly spread talent.

Chino Hills' Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is the headliner in this matchup. The senior with scholarship offers from nearly all of the Pac-10 was moved from slot receiver to running back this season in an effort to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. The opposition in 2010 has accordingly made some adjustments.

Claremont senior quarterback Daniel Kessler threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns in an impressive season-opening 31-14 win Friday over a Cajon squad that returned 15 starters from the team that finished second in the San Andreas League last year. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior completed 18 of 31 passes with one interception and also ran for a touchdown. He had two receivers go for at least 145 yards.

Greg Gano didn't define the exact breadth of Chino Hills' expected dominance, but the Damien head football coach made clear he thought it would exceed the Sierra League. "Chino Hills will be as good as anybody in this league and as good as anybody around," Gano said. "Chino Hills will be the best team in the area."

A season after Chino Hills lost a six-point semifinal to eventual CIF champion Upland, it returns 15 starters, including one of the most dynamic players in Southern California. In addition to his duties in the secondary, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu will move from slot receiver to full-time running back this season, a scary thought for opposing defensive coordinators. The 5-10, 190-pound senior with 12 scholarship offers, most of them to play defensive back, shifted to running back in last season's playoffs. After a 188-yard, five-touchdown performance in the quarterfinals, head coach Derek Bub isn't about to let him go back.

Ayala is just a year removed from sharing a league title, but the Bulldogs missed the playoffs last season courtesy of some late-season, nail-biting losses. The defense, as usual, likely will keep them in most games but head coach Tom Inglima is hoping to be less dependent on his defense for a change.

"Two years ago we had almost 30 takeaways," Inglima said. "I don't know if our defense needs to lead the way this year. We need to be balanced on offense and have no turnovers. We're looking for balance on both sides of the ball."

Senior first-year starter Caleb Carillo will quarterback an offense that returns running back Mauricio Reynoso, who rushed for 574 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Carillo was 17-3 as the junior varsity starter and the Ayala offense could use a boost after a averaging a deceiving 25 points a game - the Bulldogs eclipsed 40 against Chino (0-10), Diamond Bar (1-9) and South El Monte (3-8) but scored a combined 37 points against Chino Hills (10-3), South Hills (10-3), Glendora (7-4) and Damien (5-6).

Each year there is a team loaded with college prospects. As has been demonstrated in the past, it doesn't mean that team will succeed, but a truck load of talent is a pretty decent starting point.

This year that team is Claremont. With no less than six Division I prospects, Claremont has more star power than any team in the Inland Valley. Defensive tackle Brandon Tuliaupupu already has 12 scholarship offers. Quarterback Daniel Kessler is the best at his position in the area. There are Division I prospects at running back and receiver... the list goes on.

The Wolfpack is coming off a rough stretch - it claimed two wins combined in 2007 and 2008 - but after a 5-5 season I think Claremont is well on its way back. It doesn't take long to turn a team around in high school football.

"If people really look at it, we played pretty well last year," Claremont head coach Mike Collins said. "It came down to the last quarter of the year with Upland to see who made the playoffs, and they went on to win CIF. But we don't think people have a reason to give us preseason respect. We need to go out and earn it."

"We lost everybody."

It sounded like a distress call on the other end of the phone. Greg Gano, however, isn't the distressed type. Yes, Damien lost 19 of its 22 starters from last season. I wouldn't exactly describe things as looking rosy for the defending co-Sierra League champs entering this year - and they don't look any better with Covina Charter Oak and West Covina South Hills in the league now.

But things didn't look too great when Gano took over a 3-win team prior to last season. They looked even worse when Damien started 1-5. But the Spartans won their last four regular-season games and ended up with the Sierra League's No. 1 playoff seed. (That landed them a first-round date with eventual CIF champ Upland, but that's beside the point) If there is something that does look good, it's Gano's coaching record. He's done this before and he can do it again.

"Last year our defense came around in the middle of the season and allowed less points than anybody in league," Gano said. "We're optimistic, but we don't have a lot of expectations."

Ayala High School hired John Mounce as its boys basketball coach Friday, replacing Kenny Donavon, who resigned in July to spend more time with his family. Mounce was an assistant coach most recently at Chino, but has also coached at Newport Harbor and Mater Dei, where he played under Gary McKnight, one of the winningest high school basketball coaches in the state.

"(Ayala) principal (Diana) Yarboi and I were very impressed with his vision for our program," Ayala athletic director Steve Martin said. "He had a blue print, in writing, of where he wants to go with the program."

After Pomona received a few incoming transfers from Colony this year, now the school is experiencing a significant one of the outgoing variety. Fred Robledo of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune got comfirmation from Pomona coach Anthony Rice that Pomona running back Taj Teague is transferring to Claremont, the school he attended as a freshman.

Teague, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior already with a few scholarship offers, could be the missing piece to a Claremont team with plenty of talent on offense everywhere except running back. Claremont was prepared to shift their best receiver, Tanner Kuramata, to tailback in obvious running situations before Teague's transfer. Already with the best quarterback and one of the best receivers in the area in addition to a senior-laden offensive line, Claremont is loaded.

Pomona will not challenge the transfer, according to Rice. "Let him play," Rice said. "I don't challenge anything, if he wants to go to Claremont so be it. I wish the kid the best of luck and hope he has a great senior year. You hate to lose a kid of that caliber, but it's his choice."

Donald Williamson, identified by prosecutors as a past president of the booster club for Ayala High School's girls basketball team, is facing two felony charges for allegedly embezzling from the club. Prosecutors accused Williamson, 49, of taking more than $400 from the club between Nov. 20 and Dec. 1. Williamson, of Chino Hills, was charged July 7 with embezzlement and grand theft, and is due in Chino Superior Court Aug. 18 for an arraignment.

Read the story in its entirety here on DailyBulletin.com.

Chino Hills defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu has already had a productive summer as the 5-foot-10, 180-pound reigning Sierra League MVP heads into his senior season. Rivals.com's 11th-rated cornerback in the country has been to four high-profile camps - USC, UCLA, Nike (at USC) and Rising Stars (at USC) - since the summer began but his spring may have been even more fruitful.

Following an all-CIF junior season that began at safety (where he nabbed a school-record 8 interceptions as a sophomore), included a full-time job as the Huskies leading wide receiver and ended with a heavy load at running back in the playoffs, Ekpre-Olomu was offered 11 scholarships in the spring. Of the 150 schools Huskies head coach Derek Bub said have visited since last season, there are parties recruiting Ekpre-Olomu at all of the above positions and cornerback... his offers are as follows:

Jessica Hall's Ayala High School softball team won the CIF-SS Division 3 championship six days ago but she officially received her Gatorade shower on Wednesday. The senior pitcher bound for UCLA was named the 2009-10 Gatorade California softball Player of the Year.

"It was a shocker to me," Hall said. "Knowing all the hard work actually paid off. I know I'm representing a lot of people in the softball world, my high school, my travel team, so it's pretty amazing to do this."

Hall, who has been Ayala's starting pitcher since she was a freshman, posted a 28-3 record her senior season with a 0.68 ERA in leading the Bulldogs to the first CIF title in school history. The 5-foot-9 senior was also an offensive force with a .340 batting average, five home runs and 32 RBIs. Competing against a national field in March's Faster to First Tournament, Hall led Ayala to the tournament title, earning MVP honors in the process.

As the stakes got higher in the CIF softball playoffs, Mary Massei continually rose to the occasion. She hit the ceiling Friday night.

Ayala High School's right fielder hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning to lift the Bulldogs to a 5-4 victory over Downey Warren in the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine. After she provided the game-winning hit in a 1-0 semifinal win over top-seeded Bonita, Massei helped fourth-seeded Ayala to the first CIF title in school history.

"It was seriously in slow motion," Massei said. "That change-up literally stopped me in my tracks but when I connected it felt so right."

As the head girls basketball coach for 17 years at Ayala High School, Mel Sims has seen his share of games on the hardwood. It's the lack of soccer games, among other things, that led him to a decision to retire from coaching on Thursday.

"I've got a daughter on the soccer team who I saw play one game all of last year," Sims said. "I've had 35 great years but at some point you've got to choose between work and family. I've been neglecting my family for too long."

Sims, 69, has coached the Ayala girls to 14 consecutive Sierra League titles, leading the Bulldogs to a CIF championship in 2007 before a triple-overtime loss cost them a berth in the state championship game. He also won a CIF title in 1990 coaching the Pasadena Muir girls.

Scott Morrison, the former Damien High School football coach, has accepted the head coaching position at Workman High School in the City of Industry. Morrison, a Damien alum, was let go as Damien's coach before the 2009 season and replaced by Greg Gano. Morrison was Damien's coach from 2003-08, making the playoffs four times and winning two Sierra League titles. He continued to teach English at Damien this past year.

Morrison coached at Citrus College last fall, serving as the Special Teams Coordinator/Strength & Conditioning Coach/Outside Receivers Coach.

Krishawn Tillett is the latest Ayala girls basketball player to suffer anterior cruciate ligament damage. After two of her teammates tore ACLs prior to this season, the senior with a basketball scholarship to Army underwent surgery this week for a partially torn ACL suffered in the Bulldogs quarterfinal playoff victory on Feb. 24.

"She was chasing a girl on a breakaway and when the girl stopped to pump fake and so did Krishawn. That's when she hyperextended her right knee," Tillett's father Daniel said. "It was strange because she came back and played in that game and even played the first 10 minutes of the next game before she said 'This doesn't feel right.'"

Tillett's recovery time is expected to be six-to-eight weeks. The first team all-Sierra League guard averaged 16.4 points, 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals for the Sierra League champions.

Three days after he was fired, Kenny Donavon was re-hired as the Ayala High School boys basketball coach on Friday.

At a Tuesday meeting called by Donavon to review his first season as the varsity head coach -- the Bulldogs finished 17-12, third in the Sierra League and reached the second round of the playoffs -- Ayala first-year principal Diana Yarboi fired Donavon much to the surprise of the coach and athletic director Steve Martin, who had not been consulted about the decision.

Yarboi, who could not be reached for comment, offered Donavon his job back on Friday.

"She told me she made a mistake," Martin said. "She's a principal in her first year and I think she was trying to placate as many parents as she could. I think she's discovering, in athletics you can't placate everybody."

Ayala High School boys basketball coach Kenny Donavon was fired on Tuesday by principal Diana Yarboi after one season as the varsity head coach. After his promotion last year by then principal Mike Vaughn following several seasons as the junior varsity coach, Donavon led the Bulldogs to a 17-12 record, third place in the Sierra League and a first-round playoff victory.

In a meeting ostensibly for evaluation on Tuesday, Yarboi informed a surprised Donavon and athletic director Steve Martin the school wanted to "go in a different direction."

"I'm a little perplexed myself," Donavan said. "When I asked (Yarboi) why, she just repeated that they wanted to go in a different direction. It was a short meeting."

Yarboi, in her first year as the Ayala principal, could not be reached for comment.

Chino softball, fresh of a CIF semifinal appearance last year, is going for its first tournament championship in its three years under coach Mike Smith on Saturday in the Jurupa Valley Tournament, played at Big League Dreams in Mira Loma.
Chino downed Los Osos in the semifinals Thursday, while Corona Santiago outlasted Upland 1-0 in nine innings.
Upland and Los Osos played Friday in a Baseline League game (won by Upland 4-0) and will play again Saturday for third place at 4:30 p.m.
Chino will face off against Corona Santiago at 6:30 p.m. in the championship game. Smith said he knows Santiago coach John Perez very well and many of the Santiago players play for Smith's travel team. It should be interesting.

BOYS BASKETBALL
MVP
Derek Brown, Chino Hills, Senior

first team
Michael Rodriguez, Chino Hills, Senior
Chris Collins, Chino Hills, Senior
Ian Corella, Chino Hills, Senior
Calvin Smith, Glendora, Senior
Kacy Barlow, Diamond Bar, Senior
William Hougan, Ayala, Senior
Chris Adams, Damien, Senior
Chris Reyes, Damien, Sophomore

BOYS SOCCER
Offensive MVP
Jeremy Bishop, Sophomore, Glendora
Defensive MVP
Marco Franco, Senior, Chino Hills

first team
Austin Vizcaino, Senior, Ayala
Tim Baker, Senior, Ayala
Bryce Chamberlain, Senior, Chino Hills
Robert Sanchez, Senior, Chino
Tarek Morad, Senior, Chino Hills
Jacob Chavers, Senior, Chino Hills
Matt Jean, Senior, Diamond Bar
Adam Camacho, Junior, Diamond Bar
Ozzie Alonzo, Senior, Diamond Bar
Suraj Pathak, Senior, Diamond Bar

DIVISION 3
Player of the Year
Emily Donohoe, Jr., St. Lucy's

Coach of the Year
Ty Hudson, Corona Santiago

first team
Celena Photopulos, Sr., Corona Santiago
Megan Rowland, So., Corona Santiago
Julia Kirkland, So., Corona Santiago
Jillian Yocum, Jr., Riverside Poly
Sarah Lizotte, Sr., Riverside Poly
Cambria Shockley, So., St. Lucy's
Dallon Courter, Sr., St. Lucy's

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.

Damien High School will hold ceremonies Saturday afternoon to dedicated its remodeled baseball stadium after athletic director Thomas Carroll, who has been at the school for 38 years.

"It's quite an honor for us to recognize the efforts and contributions of Thom Carroll for all this years," said Al Leyva, the Spartans' baseball coach. "We expect many former players, not just baseball players, and alumni at the dedication."

Damien's baseball complex has been upgraded over the past year, and now includes a new scoreboard and stadium seating the school purchased from Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles.

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.

When the new league alignment that begins in September for the Mt. SAC Area was approved last fall, one of the forgotten things was that since essentially the remainder of the Miramonte and San Antonio leagues (plus Diamond Bar from the Sierra) were combined for a 7-team league, what would they call the new league?
I figured they would probably call it either the Miramonte or San Antonio. But no, it's the Hacienda League. A league that predates me (and I've been in the area for almost 15 years), but I am aware of it. Must be some old school principals.

I don't know all the alignments of the Hacienda Leagues, but at least from 1984-85, the alignment was:
Bonita, Chino, Diamond Bar, Etiwanda, Ganesha, Garey, Montclair, Ontario.
In 1986, Diamond Bar left and it was left with a 7-team league I believe, and by 1988, Chino was out and left it a 6-team league. I believe the league ceased to exist around 1991, when Etiwanda left to join the Baseline League, then a year later joined the all-Chaffey district Mt. Baldy League.

The new Hacienda League? It's got Bonita, Diamond Bar, Diamond Ranch, Los Altos, Rowland, Walnut, and West Covina. So I'm guessing it's either Bonita principal Bob Ketterling or Diamond Bar principal Denis Paul at work to resurrect the Hacienda League name, since those are the only 2 schools that cross over from what I have.

A scheduling conflict has created an opening in the field of the Chino High School Preseason Baseball Varsity Tournament in March. The event is seeking one more team to complete the field for the event with games on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from March 3 to the 16th.

Interested schools can contact Chino High School baseball coach Bob Sheehan at (909) 627-7351, extension 3706.

As usual, the Inland Valley didn't produce a lot of placers at the prestigious Five Counties Wrestling Tournament last Saturday at Fountain Valley High School.

Ayala 112 pounder Andrew Delgado finished eighth in his weight class, while Carter 140-pounder Chuck Wilson was also eighth.

The Chino Valley Unified School District and Ayala High School girls basketball coach Mel Sims have confirmed that assistant coach Nick Masi resigned for "personal reasons." Neither Sims nor the district would give details as to the "personal reasons." Masi was in his second season as Sims' assistant and served as a substitute teacher in the district. Off-campus junior varsity coach Leonard Guinn will serve double duty as JV coach and varsity assistant. "You can't find another coach and get board approved this late in the season," Sims said.

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

The Damien High School representation had nothing but good things to say about graduate Mark McGwire on the day the former MLB slugger admitted to using steroids "off and on for a decade," including to set the single-season home run record in 1998.

Here is a link to a story by our own Daniel Tedford quoting Damien High School athletic director Tom Carroll, who coached Mark McGwire in high school.

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

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...

While covering the third-place game at Ayala's Best of the West Invitational between Ayala and Diamond Ranch on Thursday night, something definitely was out of place
Namely, Ayala coach Mel Sims' clothes.
Sims was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in his team's 57-50 loss which might be OK for some coaches but not for Sims, probably the best-dressed coach in any sport in the area who's not just used to wearing suits, but pretty snappy ones at that.
Sims said it had been "years" since he hadn't worn a suit for a game, but explained that because he needed to clean up and close down the Ayala gym quickly on Thursday, he didn't want to waste time changing his clothes.
"I feel a little out of balance," Sims admitted afterward. "It (dressing well) is part of my personality."
I just hope that GQ didn't pick Thursday's game as the one to watch Sims for a future cover. One game shouldn't overshadow a career of dressing well.

Chino HIlls soccer's Dustin Ramsey collided with Diamond Ranch's Trey Sames while both were going for the ball in Tuesday's third place game of the Upland Tournament, leading to an ugly scene: Ramsey was bleeding signifcantly from his nose and Sames left the game with a gash on his forehead.

Ramsey's mother, Carol Ramsey reports that Dustin was taken to San Antonio Hospital, and that Dustin sustained a fractured nose and he required four stiches to the two small cuts in his nose. He will only be out two to three weeks, which is good news.

You don't see injuries like that all the time in soccer, but it's enough to prove that soccer is much more of a contact sport than many people realize.

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

Chino Hills all-everything junior Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was named the Sierra League's athlete of the year when the all-Sierra League team was released this week. He was the Sierra League tri-champions' leading receiver with 40 receptions for 694 yards and seven touchdowns. He was the second-leading rusher with 498 yards and 12 touchdowns and may have done his best work at safety, where he intercepted three passes despite teams throwing away from him following his school-record eight interceptions as a sophomore.

Phillip Sainz (above), running back for Sierra League tri-champion Damien, was a co-league offensive MVP after rushing for 1,252 yards and 12 touchdowns. Glendora quarterback Chad Jeffries was a co-offensive MVP while teammate Michael Gonzales was the league's defensive MVP. Chino Hills' Wes Feer was named the league's place kicking specialist and Damien's Jake Capraro was the punting specialist.

Webb senior Chris Sazo was named Division 6 player of the year on Monday and Tom MacKinlay, coach of Webb's 2008 CIF championship team, earned coach of the year honors. Two of Sazo's teammates - Chandler Talleur and Matt Abrams - were named first team all-CIF.

CIF-SS Division 5 finalist Los Osos landed three players on the first team: Sean Evans, Tyler Abbott and Dominic Vicino. On the Division 3 first team are Damien's David Purington and Eric Osterberg following the Spartans run to the semifinals.

Chino High School football coach Greg Setlich resigned Wednesday faced with principal Adam Bailey's decision "to go in a different direction." The Chino graduate who greatly improved the Don Lugo program in his previous stop, won his first two games at Chino last season but lost 18 straight before resigning.

"I knew going in it was a struggling situation, but I never envisioned going 0-18," Setlich told the Daily Bulletin's Louis Brewster. "Chino has little tolerance for losing and rightfully so. There were a lot of reasons for the lack of on-field success. It was an honor and a privilege to coach at two great schools in the district."

In his 29-year coaching career, Setlich also was head coach at Pico Rivera El Rancho and San Dimas. He left San Dimas after one season to return to Chino as an assistant to John Monger and to work with his late father Pete, also a one-time Chino head coach. That season resulted in a CIF-SS championship for the Cowboys.

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"They look like a team on a mission. When I looked at them on film, we're really going to have to bring our 'A' game."

On the Chino Hills defense:
"They look like they have pretty good size and they get a lot of hats to the ball like we do. Whenever they make a tackle, it's a gang tackle."

On Chino Hills WR/RB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu:
"You can't keep him from getting the ball. They've got so many ways to get it to him that you can't take him out of the game. And even if you can bottle him up on offense, you've got to contend with him on punt and kickoff returns.
"They seem to find a new way each week to get him the ball."

"Upland is used to being here. This is a new thing for Chino Hills. But this isn't the first big game we've played in."

On the Upland defense:
"That's one of the most athletic defenses I've ever seen. And they've got a lot of those same athletes playing on their offense.
"With Upland's defense being as good as it is, I would hope for a low-scoring game."

On Chino Hills WR/RB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu:
"He is a good football player and we like to, as the playoffs continue, find as many ways as we can to get the ball to him. Being a defensive guy, I know if you can stop one player like him it gives you a better chance to win, so I know they're going to try and stop (Ekpre-Olomu)."

This kid may be the most dynamic player left in the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs, and that's saying something considering he's got company who will be playing at USC and Oregon, to name a couple. Ekpre-Olomu's 5-TD, 3-interception performance in a 35-14 quarterfinal win over Etiwanda on Friday - that set up a semifinal against Upland - was quite a statement but far from the first for the junior.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder, who does (I would say a little, but it's a lot of...) everything, is Chino Hills' leading receiver and second-leading rusher thanks to 202 yards on the ground Friday. It was obvious he was going to be special when he nabbed a school-record eight interceptions as a sophomore. Interesting that Friday's three picks were his first of this season, undoubtedly a reflection of teams throwing away from his side of the field.

Though Ekpre-Olomu was a one-man show last week, he appears to have ample talent around him to lead Chino Hills to a CIF title, including heady veteran quarterback Ryan Verdugo and an athletic front seven on defense. After his most recent performance, it will be interesting to see how much attention will be devoted to him in Upland's game plan.

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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

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The three-way tie for first place in the Sierra League became official with Chino Hills 42-14 blasting of Diamond Bar Friday night. Damien, Glendora and Chino Hills each finished with four wins and one loss in league.

Since head-to-head results didn't break the three-way tie, a coin flip to determine the playoff seeds conducted prior to Friday night's game awarded the league's No. 1 seed to Damien, the No. 2 seed to Glendora and the No. 3 to Chino Hills. When Glendora, Ayala and Chino Hills were tri-league champions last season, Ayala won the coin flip and Chino Hills was the No. 2 seed.

In other news Friday night... San Dimas won the Valle Vista League with a 35-16 win over Baldwin Park.

Upland won the Baseline League fourth-place game with Claremont, 30-20, and will certainly get the lone at-large playoff bid in the CIF-SS Central Division when the playoff brackets are released Sunday.

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Glendora 34, Ayala 20
After this Thursday night loss knocked them into fourth place in the Sierra League, Ayala's only avenue to the playoffs is the Central Division's one at-large bid, for which it will have stiff competition. The Bulldogs' only hope is for Claremont to knock off Upland in the Baseline League's fourth-place game tonight, giving Ayala and Claremont identical 6-4 records and an equal shot at the bid. If Upland wins, it will have an 8-2 record and easily be the at-large team.

Etiwanda 27, Rancho Cucamonga 24 (OT)
Folloiwing a Rancho Cucamonga field goal on its overtime possession, Etiwanda QB Angel Santiago hit Gary Ayala with a 25-yard touchdown pass on the Eagles first play of OT to earn the Eagles at least a share of the Baseline League title. All Los Osos needs for a co-league championship and the No. 1 seed in the league is a win tonight over winless Alta Loma.

Don Lugo 42, Garey 28
The Conquistadores won the third-place game in the Mt. Baldy League thanks to 291 yards and four touchdowns from running back Steven Bethley. Don Lugo claimed the last playoff spot in the league behind Colony, who clinched the league title with a 39-13 win over Montclair Thursday and second-place Chaffey which beat Ontario, 42-21.

Other Thursday night scores:
Summit 35, Riverside Patriot 12
Summit snaps losing streak, clinches final playoff spot in the Sunkist League.
Miller 52, Eisenhower 12
Win or lose, Miller was locked into third place in the Citrus Belt League.
Pomona 33, Ganesha 12
After costly loss to Covina last week, Pomona finishes in 4th in the Valle Vista League.

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Though the Chino Hills High School football team won its crosstown rivalry game with Ayala for the first time in three years, I think it may have been Friday's 14-7 loss with which Ayala proved the last two years were no fluke.

There seems to be a perception that the better team hasn't won the game the last two years. I don't believe that but I think I finally figured out why a lot of other people do on Friday.

Ayala plays ugly (like it did Friday). It wins on the strength of its defense and special teams (it blocked a field goal Friday; Ayala won this game two years when it blocked a field goal late in the game that would have given Chino Hills the lead).

We all get caught up in offensive firepower and gaudy statistics, creating the perception that because Ayala isn't flashy, it isn't good.

Though the standings rarely matter in this crosstown rivalry, a four-way tie for first place in the Sierra League only adds to the implications of tonight's meeting between defending Sierra League champions Chino Hills (6-2, 2-1), the No. 7 team in the CIF-SS Central Division, and No. 10 Ayala (6-2, 2-1).

TOP TO BOTTOM
Though they both suffered their first league losses last week, both the Bulldogs and the Huskies remain firmly in contention for the league title. The flip side of a league race with four teams tied for first place means the loser of this game is in danger of missing the playoffs, given that Damien and Glendora also have 2-1 league records.

Maybe three champions weren't enough last year.

There are four teams tied atop the Sierra League, but that hardly tells the story.

The Damien football team, which just two weeks ago had a single win to its credit appears poised to win at the very least a share of the league championship. Two of the league's three defending champions, Chino Hills and Ayala, could have set up a showdown this week for sole possession of first place had each produced a victory on Friday. They both lost.

Now Glendora, Damien, Ayala and Chino Hills are tied for first place with a league record of 2-1.

"I think this is about how I thought it would be," Ayala coach Tom Inglima said. "I'm just glad we're still in it."

WIth Sierra League play beginning tomorrow, here's how I think it'll play out:

Chino Hills: 4-1
Glendora: 4-1
Ayala: 3-2
Damien: 3-2
Diamond Bar: 1-4
Chino: 0-5

In all seriousness, quad-champions (if that's even a real term) aren't out of the question this year. Tri-champs were fun enough last season, but a revamped Damien team is added to the mix of contenders in 2009. If a team wins this league outright, I'll be shocked.

Damien is the perfect example of why this league is shrouded in mystery. The Spartans, who won three games last season, are 1-4 but absolutely deserving of league title consideration - for crying out loud, they lost to a defending CIF champ by 3 two weeks ago.

Diamond Ranch High School football coach Roddy Layton has gained a reputation for his ridiculously difficult nonleague scheduling habits - as in Oaks Christian-three-years-in-a-row ridiculous. BUT after a 1-7 start last season, that philosophy landed Diamond Ranch in a CIF title game.

Even Layton might have a hard time topping Damien's slate this year. The nonleague schedule coach Greg Gano inherited in his first year at Damien included not one, but two defending CIF champions.

Though Damien emerged from its nonleague murder's row with a 1-4 record, anybody who takes a closer look knows the Spartans are vastly improved from their 3-7 team of last year. I promise the rest of the Sierra League has taken notice.

It took Claremont High School running back Tyler Singleton just eight carries to roll up 184 yards and two touchdowns in a 52-14 win over Ontario on Friday that helped Claremont (3-1) surpass its win total of the last two seasons combined. Last year's leading rusher in the Baseline League has 450 yards on the ground to pull within seven yards of second-place behind Alta Loma's Donta Abron. Rancho Cucamonga's Michael Boyd leads the league with 576 rushing yards.

RUNNER-UP: Pomona running back Taj Teague ran for 257 yards on just 16 carries in the Red Devils' 18-7 win over Gabrielino on Friday. The senior scored on 90- and 71-yard touchdown runs.

2ND RUNNER-UP: Ayala's Michael Trujillo touched the ball four times and finished with four touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 44-7 route of South El Monte on Friday. The senior running back had two carries for 39 yards and a pair of receptions for 52 yards.

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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.

X-rays were negative on Chino Hills High School quarterback Ryan Verdugo's non throwing arm after he took a helmet to the elbow in Friday night's 22-6 loss to Colony. The second-year starter left the game with about seven minutes remaining.

"We thought he broke his arm," Chino Hills coach Derek Bub said. "But it looks like he'll be able to go Friday."

That wasn't Chino Hills' only potentially devastating injury Friday. All-CIF junior safety Ifo Ekpre-Olomu missed the majority of the last three quarters after taking a helmet to the knee. His prognosis wasn't as rosy as Verdugo's.

"We have no idea if he'll be able to go (on Friday)," Bub said. "He has suited up but isn't participating in practice much. He'll probably play on a limited basis Friday."

After losing his starting center, Brandon Michalek, to a torn ACL three plays into the second game of the season, Bub was relieved both his QB and perhaps best player won't miss extended time.

"No matter if they can play this week, it was good news on both because they can play when league starts," Bub said. "We've just been hit hard by the injury bug. It's been one of those years."

• 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.

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."

After visiting the school over the weekend, Ayala High School wide receiver Obum Gwacham was offered a scholarship to Oregon State on Tuesday and immediately committed to the Beavers.

Gwacham had just 13 receptions for 262 yards and two touchdowns this season, but Oregon State was undoubtedly attracted to the freakish athletic ability of the 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior. Gwacham, the son of Nigerian parents who moved to the states when he was 7-years old, was the state's fifth-best high jumper last year, topping out at 6-foot-10 in his second consecutive trip to the state meet.

Gwacham also had offers from Idaho State, Sacramento State and Montana State. Prior to this season USC and Oregon coaches, among others, visited Ayala to express interest in Gwacham but communication dwindled during the season with not only those two schools, but Boise State and UNLV too.

Ayala WR/DB David Quiroga verbally committed to New Mexico State during his visit to the school this weekend, according to his father John.

On Jan. 5, Quiroga committed to new head coach DeWayne Walker pending his visit to Las Cruces, N.M. Apparently the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior liked what he saw.

Walker, the former UCLA defensive coordinator hired by the Aggies on Dec. 31, is pushing for Quiroga to play on the defensive side of the ball, according to John Quiroga, despite David catching 72 passes for 1,096 yards and 10 TDs his junior season. With quarterback Matt Baca gone to Northern Colorado this season, Quiroga's totals dwindled to 36 receptions for 470 yards and five TDs but his position with the Aggies is yet to be determined. Quiroga was also the Bulldogs second leading rusher this season with 667 yards and nine TDs.

Ayala High School WR/DB David Quiroga has not officially issued a verbal commitment to New Mexico State, as reported by rivals.com.

During a phone conversation on Monday, Quiroga committed to New Mexico State's new head coach, former UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, pending his visit to Las Cruces, N.M., according to John Quiroga, David's father. His visit is tentativily scheduled for Jan. 16.

Walker, who was hired away from UCLA on Dec. 31, is undeceided on what side of the ball the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Quiroga will play, if he attends New Mexico State.

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

A year after he ended his 10-season tenure at Hacienda Heights Los Altos High School, Greg Gano was hired as the Damien High School head football coach on Tuesday.
The replacement for Scott Morrison, who compiled a 32-33-1 record at Damien, won four CIF-SS championships in 10 years at Los Altos. Morrison, who won two Sierra League titles in six years, was fired after a 3-7 season this year.

The last time he accepted a head coaching job, Gano replaced Dwayne DeSpain, who won seven CIF titles at Los Altos.

"When I took over for Dwayne they said `You're nuts,"' Gano said. "If I can follow a legend, the coach of the century, there's not much more pressure than that.

"I know what we have to do here and we've got a solid foundation."

Offensive MVP - A.J. Johnson, RB, Chino Hills (above)

Defensive Co-MVP - Lawrence Larivee, LB, Sr., Ayala
Defensive Co-MVP - Chad Young, LB, Sr., Glendora

Athlete of the Year - David Quiroga, WR/DB, Sr., Ayala

Having narrowly finished second in their leagues - Chino Hills by a one-point loss plus an unfavorable coin flip and Los Osos by an overtime loss to Rancho Cucamonga - the Huskies (10-1) and No. 2 seed Los Osos (9-2) find themselves in a high-profile quarterfinal meeting in the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs. If circumstances were slightly different, Los Osos and UCLA-bound QB Richard Brehaut (above) wouldn't be meeting a one-loss league champion this early in the playoffs.

A week removed from a 3-7 season, Scott Morrison was fired as head football coach of Damien High School on Friday. Morrison, a Damien graduate, guided his teams to two Sierra League championships and four playoff appearances in six seasons. Given those accomplishments, Morrison was surprised to be relieved of his duties.

"The administration stepped in because we didn't have a successful enough season," Morrison said. "It's a tough place. You gotta win, and we didn't win this year. We went to the playoffs three years in a row and won two league championships, but apparently that doesn't earn you any wiggle room."

Glendora beat Ayala 21-14 Thursday night to force a three-way tie atop the Sierra League with Chino Hills having defeated Diamond Bar 34-21 across town.

But Ayala won the postgame coin flip to determine the seeding of the three Sierra League co-champions: Ayala (8-2, 4-1), Chino Hills (9-1, 4-1) and Glendora (7-3, 4-1).

Chino Hills will be the second seed and Glendora the third seed. Chino Hills defeated Glendora 31-29 on Oct. 31.

In the Miramonte League championship game Thursday night, Bonita fell to Charter Oak, 48-10, handing Charter Oak its fifth consecutive league title.

Ayala, the only undefeated team in the Sierra League, is playing for an outright league title Thursday night, but the Bulldogs could conceivably end up with the third seed in their league depending on what happens in the final week of the regular season. Here is a categorical breakdown of their matchup with Glendora...

Implications
If Ayala (8-1, 4-0) claims the league championship, it would be the school's first since 2002 and first outright title since 2001. A win for CIF-SS Central Division No. 9 Glendora (6-3, 3-1) means No. 4 Ayala will share the title with at least Glendora and possibly Chino Hills.

Here is a categorical breakdown of the "battle for the bone" as Chino Hills High School football coach Derek Bub dubbed the football game between crosstown rivals, the Ayala Bulldogs and Chino Hills Huskies.

Implications:
The winner of this matchup will obtain at minimum a share of the Sierra League title. If CIF-SS Central Division No. 6 Chino Hills (8-0, 3-0) wins, it will secure an outright league championship. A victory by No. 5 Ayala (7-1, 3-0) will assure it of a share of the league championship, but its regular-season finale against Glendora will have league-title implications if Glendora beats Chino this week.

While this league is more competitive than most, it has a fairly clear top tier to me: Chino Hills (5-0), Ayala (4-1) and defending champ Glendora (3-2).

As for the lower tier... Damien (1-4), a playoff team last year and the champ two years ago, isn't exactly easy to get a handle on. The Spartans' four losses are to teams who have lost ONE game between them. But Damien wasn't competitive in any of those, averaging a 24.7-point margin of defeat.

Chino (2-3) appears headed in the right direction under new coach Greg Setlich, but the Cowboys aren't easy to figure having played one game closer than 31 points.

And Diamond Bar (3-2) has the same nonleague record it did last year before going winless in league. Although this is the Brahmas' second season under coach John Martin, thus progress is very possible.

Granted, I've only seen Ayala play once during its resurgence from 0-10 in 2006 to a 7-4 playoff team in 2007. (It's 3-1 in 2008)

Granted, that time was two weeks ago. So, take this for what it's worth: I'm ready to label them the Virginia Tech of the Inland Empire.

I'm sure the Ayala offense of last season was much different with QB Matt Baca - widely regarded as a D-I caliber player before settling on DI-AA Northern Colorado - than with junior Dylan Lada quarterbacking the variation of the wing-T. In Ayala's 26-21 win over Alta Loma Friday, there wasn't much varation - it looked like a plain ole' wing-T (Lada completed 2 passes, the one for positive yardage was an 84-yard swing pass for a TD).

But the Bulldogs rode to victory something reminicent of the Beamer ball that has developed a reputation in Blacksburg, Va. They blocked two kicks, returning one for a score Alta Loma coach John Kuleika termed the difference in the game.

Chino Hills High School's Zach Collier signed a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies Friday night, according to his father, Clarence Collier. The terms were not disclosed.

The 34th overall pick of the June 5 Major League Baseball draft and Inland Valley Player of the Year reported to the Phillies' rookie-level Gulf Coast League team in Clearwater, Fla., on Sunday.

Last year's 34th overall selection, Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds, received a signing bonus of $825,000.

Matt Baca is done waiting for a Division I scholarship offer. The Ayala quarterback committed Jan. 21 to the University of Northern Colorado, a Division I-AA (or FCS - Football Championship Subdivision, if you want to get technical) school in Greeley, Colo.

"I'm not worried about what everybody else thinks. I know I made a good decision," Baca said. "Northern Colorado is an ideal place for me."

Damien High School safety Ryan McMahon will walk on at USC next season despite standing scholarship offers from UNLV, Utah State and Idaho State.

Through weekly contact with the USC coaching staff and his own analysis of the roster, the 6-foot, 187-pound senior believes he can succeed in one of the premiere college football programs in the country.

"I feel like I can fight my way up the depth chart at USC," McMahon said. "I know they're bringing in a lot of good players and they've already got a lot of good players there. If I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't go there."

During his official visit to the school, Chino Hills running back Michael Harris verbally committed to Fresno State on Sunday.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior was also offered scholarships by Utah, San Diego State and Minnesota, the only other school he visited. Fresno State was the only school of his prospects to guarantee Harris he'd play running back as opposed to defensive back.

"It's most of the reason I committed to Fresno," Harris said. "The coaches were very honest with me. Everything they told me was real. I pretty much knew on my way up there I was going to commit but I just wanted to see the campus and everything to make sure."

The window of opportunity is closing, but Matt Baca isn't panicking. While many will sign national letters of intent on Feb. 6, Ayala High School's quarterback has not received any college scholarship offers.

He was close to a deal with Utah State until their decision two weeks ago to switch to an option offense that doesn't fit the drop back passer that threw for 2,398 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season.

Two Division I-AA schools are considering Baca: Northern Colorado and Southern Utah. Two Division II schools - Central Missouri and Minnesota Moorhead - are also looking at him. Division-I Idaho is still considering him, but Baca isn't confident they'll make an offer.

"A lot of people are telling me I shouldn't go to a Division II school, that I'm good enough to get a D-I scholarship," Baca said. "Recruiting is a tough game but I'm not going to start panicking. Our punter didn't get his scholarship last year until June."

Chino Hills High School tight end Cory Harkey is not wavering from his verbal commitment to UCLA despite the firing of Karl Dorrell on Dec. 3 and hiring of Rick Neuheisel on Saturday.
The 6-foot-4, 240 pound senior was admittedly displeased when Dorrell was fired but said Wednesday he never contemplated looking elsewhere.
"It was upsetting," Harkey said. "But I've heard nothing but good things about Neuheisel."
Harkey hasn't yet spoken to Neuheisel but was told by UCLA tight ends coach Angus McClure he'd likely be receiving a call soon. Harkey caught 30 passes for 473 yards and three touchdowns this season for 6-3-1 Chino Hills.

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.

It'd be a lot easier to wait five more weeks to do this, but with high school football league play set to begin Friday, I figured I'd take a stab at how the leagues will play out. Beginning with the Sierra League...