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Pitcher Krystel Gabbard calmly shook her head when asked if she was worried about the Kaiser High School softball team's five-run deficit two innings into Tuesday's second-round CIF-SS Division 4 playoff game against Rancho Alamitos.

The same can't be said for the feeling in the Cats' dugout.

"I'm 64 going on 80," Kaiser coach John Stevens said after the Cats' 9-5 comeback victory punctuated by a tie-breaking four-run sixth inning.

After going hitless the first two innings, the Sunkist League champions collected 13 hits, more than half of which were for extra bases.

The Inland Valley produced many notable performances on Saturday at the Division 2 track and field prelims at Moorpark High School. The top nine in most events qualify for next Saturday's CIF-SS Finals.

Here is a list of Inland Valley qualifiers for the CIF-SS Division 2 finals:

Most Valuable Player: Jillian Alleyne, Sr., Summit High School
Coach of the Year: Latrina Duncan, Summit High School

First Team All-League
Brooklyn Jackson, Summit High School
Ashley Weissman , Summit High School
Ajaee Foster, Summit High School
Ana Brodie, Summit High School
Alysia Trejo, Jurupa Valley High School
Paige Tompkin, Jurupa Valley High School
Judit Briseno, Jurupa Valley High School
Ciara Guerrero, Patriot High School
Sabrina Avery, Patriot High School
Lorena Carillo, Patriot High School
Jazmin Medina, Kaiser High School
Alijah Dodson, Kaiser High School

After winning a CIF championship at Summit High School last season, head coach Tony Barile accepted the head football coaching position at Eastvale Roosevelt High School on Sunday. Barile, who has coached Summit from the program's inception in 2006, led the SkyHawks to the CIF-SS Eastern Division championship in December, the school's first CIF title of any kind.

A member of the vaunted Big VIII League, Roosevelt will be competing with the likes of two-time defending CIF-SS Inland Division champion Corona Centennial, a perennial state title contender. Having taken Summit to the top played a role in Barile's decision to depart for Roosevelt, a decision he wrestled with over the weekend.

"When I look back on my coaching moves, that played into it somewhat," Barile said of the CIF title. "I had reached a goal and now I've got an opportunity to compete for a state championship, a new goal. I'm going to miss the people at Summit but at the same time I know they're prepared to continue to be successful."

Offensive Player of the Year:
Jamaal Williams, Summit, 12, RB; Bernard Porter, Summit, 12, QB
Defensive Player of the Year:
Donte Deayon, Summit, 12, DB; Nolan Peralta, Elsinore, 12, LB
Coach of the Year:
Tony Barile, Summit

OFFENSE
Running back:
Davien Payne, Citrus Hill, 12
Taleeb Isom, Kaiser, 11
Adarius Hogan, Serrano, 12
Jamaal Morrow, Heritage, 11
Marshaun Coprich, Oak Hills, 12
Quarterback:
Trevor Hodge, Citrus Hill, 11

Offensive MVP: Jamal Williams, Summit, Sr., RB
Defensive MVP: Donte Deayon, Summit, Sr., DB

First Team
OFFENSE
QB: Bernard Porter, Summit
QB: Martin Mercado, Jurupa Valley
RB: Nano Martinez, Patriot
RB: Taleeb Isom, Kaiser
RB: Marquette Washington, Kaiser
RB: Johntay Carter, Bloomington
RB: Santana Gonzalez, Jurupa Valley
WR: Jeremy Vincent, Patriot
WR: Victor Hernandez, Norte Vista
WR: Ezkiel Hernden, Bloomington
WR: Daulton Boughtan, Jurupa Valley

Summit High School isn't the new kid on the block anymore.

One season after reaching the CIF championship game, in its sixth season of existence the SkyHawks achieved arguably the most significant regular season feat possible for a football team in San Bernardino County.

Summit's 21-7 win over Kaiser Friday night at Miller High School halted the Cats' streak at 10 consecutive Sunkist League championships. The loss was just Kaiser's second in league play since the run began in 2001.

Kaiser (7-3, 4-1) was on its way to a sixth straight league title during Summit's humble beginnings, an 0-10 campaign in its first varsity season. After losing by an average of 44 points per game in 2006, the SkyHawks (9-1, 5-0) are the No. 1 team in their league and the CIF-SS Eastern Division.

It would take an extraordinary set of occurrences for the 10-time defending Sunkist League champion Kaiser High School football team not to be considered the favorite when league play begins Friday.

Try these on for size:

There's the 52-7 loss on Kaiser's resume. And the 34-7 defeat it suffered a week later.
There's the fact that Summit, which finished second in league last season thanks to a 19-7 comeback win by Kaiser, is not only coming off an appearance in the CIF-SS Eastern Division championship game last year but is currently ranked No. 1 in the division. Kaiser (3-2) does enter league play with a winning record, but its three victories have come at the expense of teams with a combined 4-11 record.

"They've won the league championship however many thousands of years in a row, and they've probably done it plenty of times when they had a losing record coming into league," Summit coach Tony Barile said. "I don't think anything of their preseason."

There was no lockout that prevented high school football players from readying themselves for the 2011 season that opened for many Friday night. As their coaches attested to after the game, the Summit and Etiwanda football teams weren't exactly in midseason form, but it made for plenty of fireworks as Etiwanda took home a 49-36 win over Summit, the top- ranked team in the CIF-SS Eastern Division.

The victory was about the only thing Etiwanda coach Steve Bryce was pleased with.

"We made every mistake in the book," Bryce said, "but I'll take this win over a very talented team. Summit is loaded with talent and they're a good football team, especially in their division, but this is not the effort we wanted."

Summit running back Jamaal Williams verbally committed to BYU on Wednesday, according to Summit head coach Tony Barile. The rising senior who is listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, chose BYU among scholarship offers from Utah, Boise State, San Diego State, New Mexico State and Idaho.

There was talk Williams would play defense in college - he is likely well over 180 pounds currently but is athletic enough to play a variety of positions, including safety - but BYU prefers he play running back. Williams carried 93 times for 717 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Williams also made 42 tackles, two sacks and an interception playing a variety of positions on defense.

Williams is the second player from Summit to commit this summer after defensive back Donte Deayon issued a verbal pledge to Boise State three weeks ago while attending the school's camp.

Kaiser senior pitcher Chance Fuglistahler has accepted scholarship offer from Division I Long Island University, according to Kaiser head baseball coach Mike Spinuzzi. The four-year starter at Kaiser, who holds nearly every school pitching record, went 9-5 with a 2.59 ERA this year and struck out 72 batters in 89 innings. Fuglistahler also batted .343 with nine RBIs and 20 runs scored as a senior.

Co-MVPs: Krystel Gabbard, Kaiser, Jr.; Stacy Cavazos, Riverside Patriot, So.

First team
Jesslene Contreras, Kaiser, Jr
Marisa DeAnda, Kaiser, Jr
Crystal Cerpa, Kaiser, Jr
Linda Garcia, Kaiser, Fr
Destiney Henderson, Kaiser, Fr
Nicole Larsen, Bloomington, Jr
Felisha Gomez, Bloomington, Jr
Rhea Benavente, Bloomington, Sr
Alex Reyes, Bloomington, So
Diamond Turner, Patriot, Jr
Danyelle Sturm, Patriot, Jr
Ronni Pettis, Summit, Jr
Lianna Escobar, Summit, Sr
Earnysha Scroggins, Jurupa Valley, Sr
Jozleyn Salazar, Jurupa Valley, Jr
Alex McBride, Notre Vista, Sr

Following their CIF-SS Eastern Division championship game appearance, a pair of Summit football players were offered their first scholarships Tuesday, according to Summit head coach Tony Barile. Defensive back Donte Deayon was offered by Boise State and running back Jamaal Williams by San Diego State.

Deayon, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior who was a member of the All-Valley team, made a school record 10 interceptions last season to go along with seven pass deflections and 33 tackles. Deayon was the SkyHawks' leading receiver with 38 receptions for 584 yards and five touchdowns, but Boise State intends for him to play in the defensive backfield.

Williams, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior, was offered as a running back after carrying 93 times for 717 yards and 11 TDs last season. Williams also made 42 tackles, two sacks and an interception playing a variety of positions on defense.

The several-year long courtship of Devon Blackmon came to an end Wednesday night on ESPN when the Summit High School senior receiver announced his verbal commitment to Oregon during the Under Armour All-American game. After Blackmon, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound four-star recruit, hauled in a 58-yard pass for the first touchdown of the all-star game in St. Petersburg, Fla., he pulled on a green Oregon cap during a sideline interview, choosing the Ducks over USC and UCLA.

"When I went there for my trip it felt like a family," Blackmon told ESPN. "I knew (Oregon receivers coach) Scott Frost would take care of me."

Blackmon, who received too many scholarship offers to count beginning with a blazing summer on the camp circuit after his sophomore year, was also considering Florida, Alabama, Cal and Miami entering his final high school season. The only official recruiting trip for Rivals.com's No. 6 athlete in the country was a Nov. 5 visit to Eugene, Ore.

Offensive MVP: Jimmy Awolesi, RB, Sr., Kaiser
Defensive MVPs: Dennis Taylor, LB, Sr., Kaiser and Donte Deayon, DB, Jr., Summit

FIRST TEAM
Offense
Bernard Porter, QB, Jr., Summit
J.R. Vallejo, QB, Sr., Patriot
Montigo Alford, RB, Sr., Summit
Nano Martinez, RB, Jr., Patriot
Edward Randolph, RB, Sr., Bloomington
Ryan Ruiz, RB, Jr., Norte Vista
Damar Sowell, RB, Sr., Patriot
Devon Blackmon, WR, Sr., Summit
Dwayne Brown, WR, Sr., Kaiser
Alex Cruz, WR, Sr., Bloomington
Jose Vizcarra, WR, Sr., Patriot

It took the Wildomar Elsinore High School football team 83 seasons and five trips to the title game to secure its first CIF championship. Summit will have to wait until its sixth season for another shot at its first.

Summit ran just 13 offensive plays in the second half as Elsinore's ground game milked the clock on the way to securing a 21-7 win over the SkyHawks Saturday night in the CIF-SS Eastern Division championship game.

Summit (10-3-1) was only outgained by 49 yards but a first-half fake punt gone bad and an interception in the end zone that ended the SkyHawks final fourth-quarter drive were too much to overcome given Elsinore's glaring advantage in time of possession.

"We needed some more offense to stay on the field," Summit coach Tony Barile said. "You give them the opportunity to pound the ball, the opportunity to run the clock, they're going to hurt you."

It's the old versus the new as mainstay Serrano (11-1), the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division, hosts a CIF-SS semifinal against up-and-coming Summit (9-2-1), which that finished second in the Sunkist League to No. 1 seed Kaiser.

Clash of styles: Serrano and Summit have one thing in common - they'll both be on the football field tonight. That is practically where it ends. Serrano plays an old school brand of disciplined, physical football evidenced right down to the large group of players that hardly ever leave the field seeing as they play offense, defense and special teams.

"They're the most disciplined team I've seen in a long time," Summit head coach Tony Barile said. "They're always in the right place. I guess that only helps me out in that I know where they're going to be. They're the type of team that will manufacture a few scores and get out with a 14-7 win against most teams"

First round
Kaiser over Apple Valley
Beaumont over Granite Hills
Victor Valley over Norte Vista
Elsinore over Oak Hills
Heritage over Silverado
Summit over West Valley
Citrus Hill over Ridgecrest Burroughs
Serrano over Temescal Canyon

Quarterfinals
Kaiser over Beaumont
Elsinore over Victor Valley
Summit over Heritage
Serrano over Citrus Hill

After he was released form his letter of intent with UCLA following a June 23 arrest on suspicion of theft, Kaiser graduate Josh Shirley decided Thursday he will begin his college career at Washington, the school's Web site reported.

Shirley and two other incoming freshmen who were denied admission to UCLA are facing felony-theft charges that could be lessened to a misdemeanor after the three reportedly stole a purse. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel left open a window for the three players to return to UCLA for the winter quarter but that is obviously no longer an option for Shirley, who reached a financial aid agreement with Washington.

"We are very aware of the circumstances surrounding Josh," Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian told GoHuskies.com. "We have done our due diligence and truly feel that this is not indicative of his true character or the way that he was raised."

Washington was one of the final schools Shirley was considering when rivals.com's No. 9 outside linebacker in the country chose UCLA over Miami, Arizona and USC in a signing day surprise. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Shirley was selected to the U.S. Army All-American game after a senior season in which he was named the CIF co-defensive player of the year in the Eastern Division.

Devon Blackmon thought last summer was intense. Until this summer.

The Summit High School quarterback with too many scholarship offers to keep track of - his estimate was 50, but it added a little perspective when he recalled that just yesterday he discovered an offer from Harvard rifling through a box of letters - has reduced his potential destinations to six: Alabama, Florida, Cal, Oregon, UCLA and USC.

"USC is temporary," Blackmon said. "But those other five are solid. I might add one or drop one if the right offer comes in. It was time to say 'Thanks, but no thanks' to some of the coaches offering me."

Since college coaches have been allowed to visit Summit (58 different schools have dropped by so far) and call Blackmon beginning June 1, the pursuit of Rivals.com's No. 5 player in the country has risen to a new level of intensity, one that was written all over the 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior-to-be's face. Blackmon is the No. 41 player in the nation, according to rivals.com and rated the country's fifth-best receiver, the position at which most are recruiting him.

"In all my years coaching I've never seen a player get this kind of attention," Summit coach Tony Barile said. "I don't think he'll get the entire scope of this until he can look back on it 10 or 15 years later."

MVP: Chance Fuglistahler, Kaiser, Jr.

first team
Ernie Zaragoza, Kaiser, Sr.
Thomas Chacon, Kaiser, Sr.
Louie Ortega, Kaiser, Sr.
Antonio Duenas, Kaiser, Jr.
Jonathan Rodriguez, Kaiser, Jr.
Dakota Stokely, Jurupa Valley, Sr.
Nick Salvaggio, Jurupa Valley, Sr.
Ricky Bentacu, Jurupa Valley, Sr.
Marty Mercado, Jurupa Valley, So.
Angus Miller, Summit, Sr.

Summit High School's Devon Blackmon, who has played a variety of positions for the SkyHawks including wide receiver and quarterback, is rated the 39th best recruit in the nation, according to ESPN's 150.

The 6-foot, 175-pound senior-to-be is rated the fifth-best athlete in the country and 41st player overall by rivals.com. Scout.com, which classifies him as a wide receiver, ranks him the 31st nationally at the position.

Blackmon has scholarship offers from:

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

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

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

MVPs
Kenneth Morgan, Sr., Summit
Dorian Cason, Jr., Summit

first team
Cameron Lewis, Jr., Summit
Montigo Alford, Jr., Summit
Quinton Lilley, Jr., Summit
Arian Ochoa, Sr., Jurupa Valley
Peter Parks, Jr., Jurupa Valley
Steve Nava, Sr., Kaiser
David Wedge, Sr., Kaiser

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.

MVP
Chelsea Lesniak, Bloomington, GK, Sr.
Coach of the Year
Rosa Quiroz, Bloomington

first team
Katherine Bathgate, Bloomington, F, Sr.
Jennifer Espinoso, Bloomington, F, Sr.
Jasmine Medina, Bloomington, D, Jr.
Tanya Velasquez, Bloomington, MF, Jr.
Clarissa Contreras, Jurupa Valley, MF, Jr.
Becky Finn, Jurupa Valley, D, Sr.
Silvia Sanchez, Jurupa Valley, MF, Sr.
Francesca Escobedo, Kaiser, D, Jr.
Emma Martinez, Kaiser, MF, Sr.
Priscilla Martinez, Kaiser, D, Sr.

Although the brackets don't come out until Thursday, I believe, the seeding has been done for the Division 6 dual meet wrestling, taking place at Baldwin Park Sierra Vista High School on Saturday.

Although defending champion Morro Bay is seeded No. 1, the next three teams are Oak Hills, Bloomington and Kaiser in that order. Only the 9 league champions are guaranteed spots in the 16-team bracket in D6, so with Kaiser seeded fourth, the Cats will take one of those 7 at-large spots, and another will go to Santa Ynez, runner-up in the Los Padres League behind Sierra Vista and seeded fifth for Saturday.

EASTERN DIVISION
Co-Offensive Players of the Year: Michael Karls, QB, Palm Springs, Sr. & Nephi Garcia, RB, Palm Springs, Jr.
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Josh Shirley, LB, Kaiser, Sr. & Christian Spears, LB, Palm Springs, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Steve Fabian, Palm Springs

OFFENSE
Quarterback
Nigel Barksdale, San Jacinto, Sr., 6-0 180 12
Derrick Dison, Ridgecrest Burroughs, Jr., 6-0 175

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...

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

The senior running back needed only 14 carries to roll up 248 yards and four touchdowns in the Cats' 32-6 win on Friday over a Riverside Patriot team that is far from a pushover. (THAT'S 17.7 PER CARRY!) The USC commit, who also plays cornerback, had touchdown runs of 56, 48, 17 and 1 yards.

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

With Sunkist League play beginning on Friday, here is my guess at how the league standings will look in five weeks:

*Kaiser 5-0
*Summit 4-1
*Riverside Norte Vista 2-3
Riverside Patriot 2-3
Bloomington 2-3
Jurupa Valley 0-5

* - playoff team

Yes, Norte Vista (5-0) enters league play undefeated while Kaiser (2-3) and Summit (2-3) sport losing records, but I think the Cats will and take home their 9th straight league title. In this smash-mouth league controlled by defense and the running game, USC-bound running back Anthony Brown and a historically stingy defense have Kaiser the best equipped in both.

A couple of Kaiser's losses were easily more impressive than Norte Vista's biggest win, a 28-21 season-opening victory over Riverside La Sierra. Kaiser lost tight games to Colony and Colton, two legit contenders for the CIF-SS Central Division title both better than La Sierra.

Summit is more of a threat to Kaiser than Norte Vista. With a beefed up nonleague schedule, Summit was a last-minute drive and last-second field goal from defeating Etiwanda and Redlands, each of whom outclass La Sierra in my book.

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

Rancho Cucamonga quarterback Greg Watson threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-28 win over Temecula Valley on Friday. The reigning CIF-SS Central Division MVP completed 17 of 34 passes with no interceptions to keep the defending CIF champs undefeated. The senior more than doubled his previous season high in passing yardage.

Runner-up: Angel Santiago, Etiwanda, quarterback
Another Baseline League quarterback lit it up Friday night but Santiago's 410 total yards weren't enough as the Eagles fell 27-26 to defending Southeast Division champ Charter Oak. The senior completed 14-of-32 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries before Charter Oak's fourth-down 45-yard game-winning touchdown pass with 28 seconds to play.

2nd runner-up: Montigo Alford, Summit, running back
The junior set school records with 247 rushing yards and five total touchdowns in Summit's 42-20 win over Sultana on Friday. Alford carried just 14 times for four touchdowns and caught two passes for 28 yards and another TD.

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

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

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

Kaiser High School linebacker Josh Shirley accepted a nomination on Monday to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the premier high school all-star football game in the nation.

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Shirley, rated the eighth-best outside linebacker in the country by rivals.com, is one of 90 players from across the country who will participate on Jan. 9 in San Antonio, Texas. In a few short months, Shirley will be playing in front of 35,000 at the Alamo Dome.

"It's all pretty overwhelming," Shirley said. "I just feel blessed to have been blessed with the ability to compete on this level. The talent there is going to be through the roof."

Shirley will make an announcement of his own at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, proclaiming at some point during NBC's national broadcast where he will play college football. The four-star recruit has narrowed the field to: USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Miami, Cal, Tennessee, Washington and Arizona.

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

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

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

• I think Rancho Cucamonga High School's Greg Watson inspired me to believe he could play quarterback in college more last year than he is this year. The primary reason for that doesn't have much to do with Watson himself. Rancho Cucamonga is truly a running team this season; plus the Cougars graduated their two track-star receivers (No, seriously... Charles Saseun is at Cal on a track scholarship and Irshad Stoden is playing football at UNLV), in the process losing much of the opportunity to utilize Watson's most obvious passing strength, the deep ball. The reigning CIF-SS Central Division MVP hasn't had enough opportunity to find a passing rhythm, averaging five less attempts per game this season than he did last year. He is throwing for less than 150 yards per game whereas he averaged 189 last season. The good news is Watson's team appears it will have him on a big stage again this year but if he is to secure a Division I scholarship to play quarterback (in a quality program) some things are going to have to change.
• I think Kaiser cemented the fact it has successfully made the transition from legendary coach Dick Bruich to his longtime defensive coordinator Phil Zelaya with a 20-0 win over Cajon on Friday. The Cats' defense may not have produced a more impressive performance under Bruich than holding a Cajon team, then-ranked No. 2 in the Central Division, 50 points below its average. Yes, Cajon was averaging 50 points. Granted, Kaiser appears to have as much talent this season than it has had in recent memory (USC-bound RB Anthony Brown, touted LB Josh Shirley, etc.), but its hard to say Zelaya isn't maximizing it. It doesn't get any easier for Kaiser, who has Colony and Colton next on the docket before delving into an improved Sunkist League.
• I think I'm more than a little surprised Pomona is ranked No. 3 in the CIF-SS Mid-Valley Division. I realize the Red Devils are 3-0 but I think Pomona coach John Brown would agree that doesn't tell the entire story. Brown, in fact, was nothing less than disgusted with his team after a sloppy 14-0 victory over Alhambra Keppel on Thursday. Pomona's three opponents thus far have ratings on calpreps.com of -6.4, -13.2 and -24.2. Pomona's rating is 3.9 while the top-rated team in the Valle Vista League, San Dimas, is 16.6. Of course, San Dimas was voted into the No. 4 spot in the Mid-Valley Division behind you know who. The good news for Pomona is five of their final seven opponents have negative ratings on calpreps.com, including three Valle Vista League teams.

The Kaiser High School junior safety intercepted three passes in the second half of the Cats' 20-0 win on Friday over Cajon, then the No. 2 team in the CIF-SS Central DIvision. Awolesi contributed to a defensive effort that limited a Cajon team averaging 50 points per game to 125 total yards.

Kaiser High School senior-to-be Anthony Brown verbally committed on Thursday to play football at USC.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pound running back/cornerback received an offer from USC after attending its football camp two weeks prior to committing. Brown, who doesn't know if he will play running back or cornerback in college, also had scholarship offers from Nebraska, Colorado, UTEP and San Diego State.

"He's always been impressed with USC," Kaiser coach Phil Zelaya said. "He decided he wanted to go there and compete with the best."

Brown rushed for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns his junior season, helping Kaiser to a playoff appearance. He has started at running back for two seasons and started both ways as a junior.

"They offered him as an athlete," Zelaya said. "He isn't too concerned with where he'll play, he just wants the chance to compete."