September 2007 Archives
It was a little before 7 p.m. Friday in Phelan and as soon as the Serrano football players appeared at the edge of their inflatable tunnel, the fans were on their feet.
The dog went 12-6-1 on Friday night's picks - a middling showing.
San Gorgonio grad Shannon Dorsey, like so many young athletes, dreamt of playing in the NFL.
Jake Van Ginkel, Upland's freshman kicking phenom, has done it again.
The dog visited Lake Arrowhead on Thursday to watch Rim of the World play Alta Loma in volleyball.
Prep-dog detects a foul smell emanating from the North via the Sacramento Bee:
The dog went 13-9 last week, which is a good record if you're Barry Zito, but not so hot if you're picking prep football games with no spread involved. Still I forge ahead. This week's brainstorms:
While the dog can claim to have coached 49ers backup QB Trent Dilfer (youth basketball), I agree Rim cross country coach Stephen Cook has me trumped in the name-dropping department.
Yucaipa High School unveils its new FieldTurf on Thursday with two underclassmen football games against Rialto.
The unfortunate passing of Rim of the World athletic director Dave Ochs' dad, Dorance, has the dog thinking about fatherhood in general. We don't dabble in book reviews much here at Prep-dog, but here's one I'll recommend:
It was unfathomable before the 2002 season, but the Redlands East Valley football team is now ranked 17th in the state by calhisports.com.
Our thoughts go out to Dave Ochs, whose father Dorance, 86, died recently in Lodi (Northern California). Ochs is the longtime Rim of the World athletic director.
Prep-dog may be opening a Pandora's Box here, but we are entering the realm of San Bernadino County cross country rankings. Can badminton be far behind? The new sbsun.com/prepdog rankings are provided by The Dean of All Coaches, also known as the Grand Exalted Seer. The dog can't reveal his true identity.
Former Miller basketball standout Mychael Hearn has transferred to Cajon, Cowboys coach Randy Murray told the Prep-dog.
Only one high school girl from San Bernardino County made John Tawa's prepvolleyball.com list of top 100 in the nation Senior Aces. Serrano's Caitlin Ledoux checked in at No. 27 in Tawa's rankings. Unfortuantely for Serrano, Ledoux is not playing her senior year for the Diamondbacks.
The Redlands girls can enjoy the beach Sunday after winning the Iolani Cross Country Invitational on Sataurday in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The dog is licking his wounds after Friday night's forecasting follies. It was 13 up and eight down for the canine - a far cry from the 24-3 of a week ago. A Big Bear victory today against Citrus Hill would improve that only slightly.
The new sbsun.com/prepdog volleyball rankings, like the dark clouds and O.J.'s bail bondsman, have arrived.
We're trying to improve our reporting of individual-game volleyball stats, both in what's reported to us and what we gather in person. So listen up, VB coaches:
The Carter football team hosts Etiwanda tonight. The game will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on KSPA (1510-AM), Farnum Bouton of KSPA told the dog last week. Figure about 10:30 p.m. for the broadcast
On paper, Friday's Bell Game between Apple Valley and host Victor Valley looks like a blowout. It may well be. But in the High Desert, it's still all about the bell, as former Jackrabbit running back/defensive back Carl Henderson will attest.
The Cajon girls and the Arroyo Valley boys cross country teams won Wednesday's San Andreas League mimi-meet at Colton. The results catapult Prep-dog reader Dean to grand exalted seer status, probably supplanting the dog himself.
Phelan's Jean Golla, the mother of Serrano grad and Bakersfield High coach Paul Golla, called the Prep-dog on Thursday morning. Jean wanted to know about Sun reports on Paul's exploits. So I had to get Jean hip to the dog, the place to look for updates on her son and the Drillers.
The dog hasn't been feeling too feisty lately. But after a trip to the vet and an I.V. of coffee, he's back with a new batch of prep football picks. Continued success for the canine, or has he had too much cold medicine this week?
Can someone effectively coach in a sport he or she has not played? Speak to the dog.
Quarterback was a question mark for Redlands East Valley entering the 2007 football season, but it's looking solid now with sophomore Tyler Shreve at the controls. Shreve was included by calhisports.com on a recent list of "Lauching Pad" sophomores and juniors - i.e., players from throughout the state with unusual potential.
Upland travels to Las Vegas on Saturday to take on Andre Agassi's alma mater, Bishop Gorman at 7 p.m.
at Valley High School.
These are practice games for the Prep-dog, too. Today he is literally and figuratively in the dog house after calling Rancho Cucamonga quarterback Greg Watson by the wrong name following the Cougars' 14-9 win over Carter on Friday. That's what the dog gets for using a roster off the Internet.
Redlands won the girls rated varsity championship Saturday at the Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine. The Terriers were led by Lauren Jacobs, who had a winning and school-record time of 17:31.
On Mondays the "Peek at the Week" appears in The Sun. Prep entries come from high school schedules submitted to the newspaper.
Arrowhead Christian Academy pounded Daniel Murphy of Los Angeles 53-14 on Saturday, completing last week's slate of prep football games. It was the Eagles' second consecutive victory under veteran coach Wayne Cochrun.
Somebody was yelling Prep-dog's name Saturday morning, out in front of the Highland Albertson's. The dog feared it might be more of those bothersome, stalking paparazzi. Actually it was Carter High assistant football coach Damian Staricka.
The crystal ball cleared up long enough Thursday morning for Prep-dog to make a pile of accurate football picks. In games played Thursday and Friday, he went 23-3.
About 200 schools and 8,000 runners descend upon Irvine on Saturday for the 27th annual Woodbridge Invitational Cross Country Classic. One of the teams will be the Redlands girls, fresh off their first-place finish in the Bosco Tech Invitational in Irwindale last week.
The dog ventured west of the I-15 Thursday night to watch Rancho Cucamonga host Redlands East Valley in girls volleyball.
The dog normally limits the personal comments in this space, but reserves the right to say happy birthday to the Prep-kid, Kyle, 7 years old today.
Who will triumph in this huge showdown? Will the Wildcats roar again, or do they get stung by the Yellowjackets?
Jason Walters is the new boys water polo coach at Rancho Cucamonga, Cougars athletic director Victor Garnica told the Prep-dog Thursday.
Friday night's Ayala vs. Alta Loma football game will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on KSPA (1510-AM), said Farnum Bouton of the radio station.
Prep-dog is back, bloodied but un-bowed ... or something like that. He went 19-8 last week and is 27-12 for the season. Here are this week's picks, arrived at by educated guess, ouija board and dart-throwing:
A high school student from Rialto, Malcolm Franklin, is headed Monday for the U.S. Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Mike Lawler has been selected as the new girls basketball coach at Arroyo Valley, said athletic director Matt Howell by e-mail. Lawler formerly was the boys coach at Rim of the World and Hesperia.
The Inland Empire isn't prominent in the calhisports.com state football rankings, as it used to be. But a few teams from the general area have cracked Mark Tennis' Top 25.
Upland, the county's top-ranked volleyball team, is No. 84 in John Tawa's prepvolleyball.com Top 100 national rankings.
The Claremont Wolfpack baseball program has a new lead dog.
Former Carter girls soccer star Janelle Civitarese has transferred from Cal Poly Pomona to Cal State San Bernardino, the athlete told the Prep-dog Monday.
Neither the Colton nor Redlands East Valley football teams had much time to enjoy their impressive victories last week against Bloomington and North, respectively.
Upland junior linebacker Justin Meng scored his first prep touchdown in a 14-0 win Friday night against Charter Oak.
Eisenhower football coach John Rice is encouraged that nine months of weightlifting haven't been in vain.
Prep-dog went 19-8 on football picks this weekend, with upset victories by Redlands East Valley (over North) and Arroyo Valley (over Kaiser) throwing a wrench into things.
Friday night was all right for Fontana football fans, who watched their team snap the program's 29-game losing streak. The Steelers defeated Banning 46-13. That Fohi point total is close to the 58 total points the Steelers scored during the 2006 season. Ironically, the Fohi scoreboard operator seemed intent upon cheating the Steelers out of a point against Banning.
The dog fared well on Thursday night's football picks, going 4-0. But those were easy ones. If you scroll down the list of blog items to Sept. 6, I have handicapped all of tonight's games involving teams in the greater San Bernardino area and beyond.
Lights, cameras, action.
Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket will be on the Redlands East Valley campus this morning for its pep rallies, REV athletic director Rhonda Fouch said.
As the No. 3 quarterback on the University of Washington football team, Ronnie Fouch is on "red alert" said John Fouch, Ronnie's father. But John Fouch said his son hopes to redshirt (not play this season, thus maintaining four years of college eligibility), if possible.
Redlands East Valley has picked Ted Small as its new boys soccer coach, pending school board approval, Wildcats athletic director Rhonda Fouch told the Prep-dog today.
The big televised football showdown beetween Redlands East Valley and host North has been moved to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, REV athletic director Rhonda Fouch said.
OK, prep football coaches, after going 8-4 in Week 0, Prep-dog returns to predict a full slate of Week 1 games. If I pick your team to win, don't get a fat head. If I pick 'em to lose, then you have the bulletin-board material you so covet. Just remember the dog at Christmas time. Here we go:
Rialto High has chosen Byron Wesley as its new boys basketball coach, Knights athletic director Frank Camacho told the Prep-dog via e-mail late Wednesday night.
The Norco football team is rated 21st in the state in this week's calhisports.com rankings, which just came out.
Loma Linda Academy did not crack The Sun's list of Top 10 volleyball teams, but the Roadrunners are knocking at the door.
When discussing top county volleyball programs, Rialto doesn't fly off the tongue right away. But in the Prep-dog's discussion with coaches throughout the county, the Knights were touted by several knowledgeable coaches.
The county volleyball preview ran in today's Sun and included a list of 15 players to watch. A list of the top 10 teams was also supposed to be published, but was omitted. So here are the Top 10 teams, as chosen by the Prep-dog with significant input from county coaches: <