DON'T THINK. IT CAN ONLY HURT THE BALLCLUB

A season after snapping a state-record 49-game losing streak on the field (the Giants won twice via forfeit during a stretch that began in 2002) the Ganesha High School football team ended a 35-game Valle Vista League losing streak on Friday with a 16-10 victory over none other than defending league champion Covina Northview.

After not only breaking a streak that was cutting into its seventh year last season, but winning TWO games in 2008, even considering Friday's victory it would appear Ganesha is taking a step backward this season.

That's not the case.

Continue reading "Another year, another streak ends at Ganesha HS" »

Posted by Clay Fowler at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here is my guess at how the Valle Vista League will look at the end of league play:

San Dimas: 5-0
Covina: 4-1
Baldwin Park: 3-2
Pomona: 2-3
Covina Northview: 1-4
Ganesha: 0-5

It was a one-point loss to Northview that cost San Dimas the Valle Vista League championship last season. Judging by Northview's nonleague performance, that surely won't happen again.

I think San Dimas (4-1) actually had a better team last season, but the rest of the league hasn been far from impressive thus far. Covina (2-3) played Walnut close but that's about the only thing on its nonleague resume worth mention. Pomona (4-1) and Baldwin Park (4-1) played such soft nonleague schedules that they're difficult to gauge. Although both of their losses came to below average teams.

After considerable progress last season, Ganesha (0-5) has fallen off again. And Northview (1-4), last season's undefeated league champ, has only a victory over hapless Nogales through five games.

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

Posted by Clay Fowler at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Outside of the playoffs, neither Bonita nor San Dimas hide the fact that their game with each other is the most important of the season. After Bonita won the Smudge Pot five out of six years, the cross-town rivalry game has gone to San Dimas the last two. Fresh off its first loss of the season, San Dimas, the No. 4 team in the CIF-SS Mid-Valley division, enters with a 3-1 record while Bonita, having won its first game last time out, is 1-3.

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The singular devotion to this game is apparent on both sides. Each takes its bye week before hand, so as to allow more time for the hype to build. League play and the playoffs are obviously important but neither side of the rivalry veils the significance of this series that San Dimas leads 20-16-1.

"League still matters," Bonita running back Deron Holmes said, "but this game is on top."

"When you're drawing up plays in the summer," San Dimas head coach Bill Zernickow said, "you think of the Bearcats first."

Continue reading "Prep football game of the week: Bonita at San Dimas" »

Posted by Clay Fowler at 7:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• 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

Posted by Clay Fowler at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• 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.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• I think Etiwanda QB Angel Santiago is ready to lead his team to contention for a Baseline League/CIF title (they're comparable accomplishments in the Central Division). Though this is his third year as a starter, I wasn't drinking the Kool-aid until I saw Santiago play Friday in a 37-27 loss to a Norco team anybody in the Central Division would have a tough time with. His numbers the past two seasons have been great but whenever I saw Santiago play, I was less than impressed. This year, not so much. He's got more zip on his passes, he's quicker to make decisions running and throwing and he's a better leader. Norco coach Todd Gerhart readily admitted nobody is going to stop Santiago for four quarters.
• I think Pomona has a realistic shot at the playoffs this season. The Red Devils liked to talk about the playoffs last year but really weren't terribly close to beating any of the three playoff teams in the Valle Vista League - their average margin of defeat to San Dimas, Northview and Covina was 17.7 points. Pomona has more visible talent this season than I can remember in my three years here. San Dimas will probably win the league but last year's champ, Northview, is having a rough season, to put it lightly. Pomona has a fightin' chance with Covina and Baldwin Park for those final two postseason berths.
• I think if Rancho Cucamonga beats Charter Oak in a battle of defending CIF champs, it could have the first real shot at a bowl game since California started the state-championship format. The odds are against Rancho running the table in the Baseline League with Etiwanda improved and Upland and Los Osos still strong. But they did it last year. Now they've got the star power to gain consideration for a bowl game. A win over a Charter Oak team that could win a second straight CIF title coupled with a second consecutive CIF championship for Rancho... there's a long way to go but for the first time the Inland Valley has a chance to land a team in a state championship game.

Posted by Clay Fowler at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Besides making the playoffs, the Pomona High School football team has some lofty goals.

After a 29-0 win over Duarte Thursday night, Pomona's first-year head coach John Brown stated his desire for one player to give a college commitment every three weeks. Athletic quarterback Darrian Lewis has already committed to Eastern Michigan, where Ganesha HS grad Ron English is in the midst of his first season as a college head coach.

Next on the list, hopefully, is Pomona's 6-foot-6, 250-pound defensive end Deron Jefferson, said Brown.

Last year the Red Devils graduated cornerback Titus Teague to Louisville (where English was the defensive coordinator last season). His younger brother, Taj Teague, a promising looking junior, is hoping to continue the family tradition... and help build one that is apparently gaining steam at Pomona.

"A lot of people don't know about Pomona," Brown said, "and how we do things here."

Posted by Clay Fowler at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upon first glance, the San Dimas High School football team appears to have missed its best opportunity (by a single excruciating point, no less).

The Saints graduated 320 rushing yards per game and the entire offensive line from a team that rolled up 46 points per game... but lost a 40-39 heartbreaker to Covina Northview for last season's Valle Vista League title (before surprisingly dropping out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals).

Head coach Bill Zernickow believes he's reloading this season. The new backfield running his Wing-T is even bigger that last season's talented trio of Nico Barbone, Daniel Joseph and Erek Brown.

Continue reading "San Dimas HS isn't rebuilding, but it's bigger in '09" »

Posted by Clay Fowler at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Football coach Dave Fleming's first season at Ganesha was a rousing success.

It consisted of two victories.

But when you haven't won a game on the field since the 2003 season-opener, winning not once but twice represents a mammoth leap. The former Diamond Ranch assistant ended a state-record losing streak on the field at 49 games (Ganesha won a couple of forfeits since the '03 season opener).

Had he switched the 6-1, 250-pound Justin Goytia from offensive line to fullback before the season, Fleming believes Ganesha could have improved exponentially.

"If I would have used Justin at fullback last year, we could have won six to eight games," Fleming said. "I'm not kidding, this kid has a chance to be special. It was my first year and that was a big mistake I made, not realizing that he could have helped us so much more."

Continue reading "After 0-49, can Ganesha HS actually make playoffs?" »

Posted by Clay Fowler at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is a Thanksgiving themed story that ran in Thursday's paper... Many football players claim their team as family but San Dimas sophomore Cawatas Brown actually had to choose between his real family and his football team.

Continue reading "San Dimas' Brown adds to family tradition" »

Posted by Clay Fowler at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pomona High School running back Titus Teague didn't say anything for about five minutes. He was stunned to silence when Pomona head football coach Don Cayer told him Louisville was going to offer him a scholarship.

Wednesday night the senior was offered by Louisville defensive coordinator Ron Engish, a Ganesha graduate. He verbally committed on the spot, according to Cayer.

Continue reading "Pomona's Teague commits to Louisville" »

Posted by Clay Fowler at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)