December 2007 Archives
Redlands defeated San Gorgonio 89-73 in the semis of the 50th Kiwanis Tourney on Friday night at San G.
Josh Green and Matt Green combined for 40 points for the Terriers and Alex Wolpe added 12.
The Terriers' Tristan Kirk was scoreless at halftime (he finished with seven points) and Redlands still led 55-28.
The Terriers now advance to the title game for the second consecutive year. They lost last year by one point to San G.
Leon Jackson had 25 points for San G.
It was 55-28 at halftime, in favor of Redlands ... despite RHS star Tristan Kirk having no points and two early fouls. It is now 69-48 RHS with third quarter winding down.
RHS' Josh Green (five 3-pointers and 22 points) is blowing up. San G. showed some moves in the third quarter but is shorter at just about every position than Redlands.
Some genius in the stands was blowing a whistle during the game until the ref told him to knock it off. Dude denied it, but the dog heard it clearly. Takes all kinds.
The dog ran into new San Gorgonio coach Cedric Wells before his San Bernardino Kiwanis game with Redlands on Friday night and mentioned Wells was looking pretty dapper in his green sportcoat, khaki pants and tie.
"I think I'm the best-dressed in the tourney," Wells said.
"You get my vote," said Redlands coach Brad Scott, signalling a thumbs-up to Wells.
Scott went the business casual route.
The Prep-dog is court-side at San Gorgonio at the 50th San Bernardino Kiwanis Tournament. This thing began back in 1958, when Sandy Koufax was still a wild lefty in the Dodger farm system.
Here are the first three scores of the night from San G., the Summit of Excellence (or so it says on its gym wall): Kaiser 71, Banning 55; Colton 71, Yucaipa 60; and Sultana 68, Barstow 59.
Yucaipa benched a couple of guys for arriving fashionably late.
In the second quarter of the semis here at San G., Redlands is ahead of San G. 28-16.
In Prep-dog's previous post, I listed the volleyball teams formerly known as All-CIF. After a few weeks of ramming my snout against brick walls, it was nice to get my paws on the lists.
But the dog is not done snarling. For almost every division, there are Co-Players of the Year and Co-Coaches of the Year. It's Co-Irritating.
Can't the braintrust of this thing pick one Player of the Year and one Coach of the Year for each division? We don't have Co-Presidents of the United States, Vince Lombardi wasn't Co-Coach of the Green Bay Packers with someone else .... why do we have all this Co-craziness in the CIF?
Blame political correctness. Nobody wants to offend anyone. Give two people Player of the Year or three people Coach of the Year ... as long as everybody is smiling when they leave the meeting. It makes me sick.
Of course, none of this helped Redlands East Valley's Johnna Fouch and Krista Vansant, who both failed to attain any Co-Player of the Year love despite the Wildcats winning the section title. Blame their youth ... if there's one thing selectors of all-stars teams hate to do is glorify young players. But that's fuel for a different rant. I'm done for now.
After many inquiring phone calls, two blog items and a Sun column, the Prep-dog has obtained the volleyball all-star lists formerly known as "All-CIF." Keep in mind CIF has sort of washed its hands of these teams, though they are for the area encompassed by the CIF-Southern Section.
LAFoundation.org also said it's not their team, they just make out the certificates. Ah what the heck, let's call it All-Prep-dog. I don't care. Got a complaint about who made it, give me a call. I didn't pick the teams, but I'll listen to your concerns. And my rates are reasonable.
Redlands East Valley's Johnna Fouch and Krista Vansant made first team in Division II. But despite the fact REV won the CIF title, neither Fouch nor Vansant was named Player of the Year. However, REV coach Tricia Vansant was named Coach of the Year.
Here are the teams:
DIVISION I
First Team
Olivia Trudeau, Arroyo Grande; Samantha Orlandini, Flintridge Sacred Heart; Katie Condon, Flintridge Sacred Heart; Catheryn Quinn, Harvard-Westlake; Samantha Selsky, Marymount; Alesha Young, Newport Harbor; Katherine Sebastian, Harvard-Westlake; Lane Carino, Mira Costa; Devon Dykstra, Redondo Union; Megan Saraceno, Redondo Union; Morgan Carty, Upland.
Second Team
Jacqueline Johnson, Arroyo Grande; Francesca Silva, Dana Hills; Jazmine Jacobsen-Orozco, Lakewood; Katie Crosby, Los Alamitos; Stevi Robinson, Mira Costa; Megan Munce, Newport Harbor; Lauren Allen, Redondo Union; MacKenzie Knox, Edisonl; Emily Waterhouse, Harvard-Westlake; Nikki Doyle, Pioneer Valley; Kristen Dealy, Santa Barbara.
Players of the Year
Kendall Bateman, Mira Costa; Falyn Fonoimoana, Mira Costa.
Coaches of the Year
Lisa Zimmerman, Mira Costa; Adam Black, Harvard-Westlake.
DIVISION II
First team
Alexandra Palmer, Laguna Beach; Piper Obradovich, Laguna Beach; Sarah Prather, Bishop Montgomery; Jennifer Edmond, Bishop Montgomery; Karin Ng, North Torrance; Kristin McNeese, North Torrance; Johnna Fouch, Redlands East Valley; Krista Vansant, Redlands East Valley; Courtney Boyd, Ayala; Madie Smith, Corona del Mar; Sierra Livesay, Riverside Poly; Hattie Waybright, South Torrance.
Second team
Amanda Remy, St. Lucy’s; Melinda Gomez, South Hills; Brittany Best, Norco; Christine Edwards, St. Joseph’s; Karissa Lagmay, Burroughs; Cami Martin, La Canada; Monica McFarland, Riverside King; Whittany Radcliffe, La Habra; Kacycee Gow, Hemet; Katie Judd, Torrance; Stephanie Stillman, Arcadia; Casey Klein, Pasadena; Natalie Allen, Corona; Kelly Schulte, Riverside Ramona.
Players of the Year:
Dana Hutchinson, Laguna Beach; Ilyanna Hernandez, North Torrance.
Coach of the Year
Tricia Vansant, Redlands East Valley.
DIVISION III
First team
Shannon Armstrong, Oaks Christian; Marissa Brand, Cypress; Paris Coleman, Brentwood; Jade Esquivel, Los Altos; Farren Halcovich, La Quinta; Marissa Rangel, California; Katy McCreary, Bonita; Lisa Morgan, La Quinta; Chanell Puou, California; Kara Sherard, Quartz Hill; Megan Welchman, Village Christian; Aly Squires, Santa Ynez; Ligna Fuentes, Cypress.
Second team
Megan Barr, El Rancho; Chelsea Hamilton, Quartz Hill; Kelly Hasenjager, Mayfair; Madison Horsley, San Dimas; Heidi Hillman, Santa Monica; Annie Kim, Gabrieleno; Morgan Ma, San Gabriel; Alexa Mioek, Oak Park; Molly Peterson, Oaks Christian; Kiki Salazar, La Mirada; Brooke Schlachter, Palm Desert; Kelsey Soos, Santa Ynez; Hannah Stoiberg, La Reyna; Charlotte Haun, Valley Christian.
Players of the Year
Lauren Herrick, Cypress; Rachel Taylor, Village Christian
Coaches of the Year
Robert Blaken, Village Christian; Heather Dillard, Cypress.
DIVISION IV
First team
Rachel Aragon, Mayfield; Sarah Elfinger, Calvary Murrieta; Lindsay Sappington, Calvary Murrieta; Nikki Lane, Chadwick; Michelle McCarthy, Chadwick; Keriann Mason, Arrowhead Christian; Leslie McDonald, St. Margaret’s; Savannah Holte, St. Margaret’s; Jackie Harvey, Laguna Blanca; Alexa Antoni, Ontario Christian; Katrina Post, Westridge; Samantha Borenstein, Viewpoint.
Second team
Galia Sotomayor, Providence; Daniela Macias, Gladstone; Katie Saavedra, St. Paul; Cindy Ortiz, Bishop Conaty; Antonia Antes, Big Bear; Whitney Granado, Woodcrest Christian; Emily Davisson, Laguna Blanca; Katie Borden, Laguna Blanca; Megan Sweeney, Mayfield; Janelle Tucker, Campbell Hall; Tiffany Horton, Rio Hondo Prep; Rene Simon, Calvary Murrieta; Sarah Grayden, St. Margaret’s; Carolyn McLaughlin, Westridge.
Player of the Year:
Susan Carlson, Mayfield
Coaches of the Year:
Ernest Banaag, Mayfield; Paul Amoy Calvary Murrieta.
DIVISION V
First team
Kylie Edgemon, Upland Christian; Tanya Ivory, Victor Valley Christian; Kaley Morrison, Santa Clarita Christian; Osose Oboh, Faith Baptist; Coliette O’Connell, Connelly; Alyssa Parker, Baptist Christian; Christy Power, Coastal Christian; Heather Rushton, La Verne Lutheran; Madison Sano, Coastal Christian; Jennifer Trahan, Desert Christian; Krystyna Utzig, California Lutheran; Samantha Weiner, Milken Community.
Second team
Chelsea Allen, La Sierra Academy; Britni Dearden, Upland Christian; Ilana Drecier, Milken Community; Kristina Gibson, Santa Clarita Christian; MaryLu Gonzales, New Roads; Rosalind Hilman, Faith Baptist; Kelsey Kolar, Desert Christian; Hilary Marston, Fairmont Prep; JoAnn Mauries, San Gabriel Academy; Stephanie Sommer, Lighthouse Christian; Morgan Stansell, Victor Valley Christian; Megan Tabor, Baptist Christian; Breann Taylor, Hesperia Christian; Brittany Wilkins, La Verne Lutheran.
Players of the Year:
Lila Frederick, Connelly; Bree Rauschenbach, California Lutheran.
Coaches of the Year:
Dani Raiser, California Lutheran; Misty Sano, Coastal Christian.
A volleyball mom called today and asked the Prep-dog who made All-CIF. Now there's the $64,000 question. As the dog detailed in a previous post, the CIF, LA84foundation.org and the individual divisional volleyball chairmen are all passing the buck when it comes to releasing these teams. Talk about mysteries ... this is like "who killed J.R?" The All-CIF teams for volleyball, football etc. are the most closely guarded secrets since the formula for Coca-Cola.
CIF says it's not its team anymore - it's picked by the coaches and they're not involved. The various chairmen say it's not their job to send out the teams. As for LA84, the lists aren't on their Web site and probably won't be anytime soon.
Why did they pick All-CIF, or whatever you want to call it? Who knows? As I said in an earlier post, it's like holding the CIF title games in football before empty stadiums. It's like picking All-Pro for NFL football and then lighting the list on fire.
It's mind-boggling, too, because in these days of fax machines and e-mail and cell phones, it's even more difficult to find out the results of an all-section team than 1979 when the dog first started collecting such information.
Maybe the beauty of All-CIF in 2007-2008 is anybody a little shady can say they made it - I mean, who is going to dispute it? There may be a list somewhere, but it's being held in Fort Knox. Or maybe floating around in someone's toilet.
Perhaps I'll call Robert Stack ... it's an unsolved mystery.
The 50th San Bernardino Kiwanis Basketball Tournament begins today at Cajon and San Gorgonio high schools. Redlands (10-0) looks like the favorite, but Redlands East Valley (9-2) has some talent and could meet the Terriers in the title game.
Three dark horses to make the title game are Cajon, San Gorgonio and Sultana. They all have middling records, but have enough ability to make an impact.
The Terriers, the only program to have played in the previous 49 Kiwanis tourneys, will be especially tough to beat this year. They have stars such as Tristan Kirk and brothers Josh and Matt Green. They're smart and quicker than you might imagine.
The Sun will provide numerous features throughout the tourney, including a player profile, the Top 10 all-time tourney title games and the 30 top players in tourney history.
Here are today's games:
(At Cajon)
3 p.m. Vista Del Lago vs. Bloomington
4:45 p.m. Pacific vs. Redlands East Valley
6:30 Silverado vs. Fontana
8:15 Rim vs. Cajon
(At San Gorgonio)
3 Colton vs. Kaiser
4:45 Barstow vs. Redlands
6:30 Yucaipa vs. Sultana
8:15 Banning vs. San Gorgonio
The 50th San Bernardino Kiwanis Boys Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday.
From Colton's Ken Hubbs (1958) to Redlands' Tristan Kirk (current), the tourney has for a half-century provided a recreational outlet for athletes and thrills for fans.
Wednesday will also begin The Sun's intense daily coverage of the tourney. On the first day we will take a look back at the history of the tourney and will also preview this year's event.
In coming days we will pick an all-time tourney team, highlight an outstanding current player, select the Top 10 title games and will provide game coverage and photos, both in the daily newspaper and on sbsun.com.
Due to extremely tight deadlines, we will not be able to provide next-day articles in the newsaper on game which begin at 8:15 p.m. However, we will run these game stories on sbsun.com. The title game article will appear both on the Internet Dec. 29 and in the newspaper Dec. 31.
We will also blog all four days.
Here are Wednesday's matchups:
(At Cajon)
3 p.m. Vista Del Lago vs. Bloomington
4:45 p.m. Pacific vs. Redlands East Valley
6:30 Silverado vs. Fontana
8:15 Rim vs. Cajon
(At San Gorgonio)
3 Colton vs. Kaiser
4:45 Barstow vs. Redlands
6:30 Yucaipa vs. Sultana
8:15 Banning vs. San Gorgonio
Redlands High School has a pair of alumni games tonight at the Terrier gym. The old alumni players meet at 5 p.m. At 6:30 p.m. the younger alumni play the current varsity.
The current Terrier varsity is 10-0 following a 65-58 win over Miller on Friday night.
The All-CIF-Southern Section teams, in the Prep-dog's opinion, were always a hit and miss affair. Having examined these teams over the years, it seemed that some deserving kids wouldn't make the teams because nobody would lift a finger to promote them. Others seemed to earn the honor because a coach or league rep was pushing them.
Then there's All-CIF-SS volleyball 2007 ... or whatever they're calling it these days. Have you seen the list? Not likely. After calling CIF a few times and calling various divisional coordinators who were at the meeting, the dog still hasn't rounded up any lists for athletes who have made the all-star team for this area.
That team used to be called All-CIF, but after speaking to CIF administrative assistant Kim Willeman and assistant commissioner Scott Raftery, I've been informed it's no longer referred to as All-CIF ... it's not under their auspices, they say. The teams supposedly go to the L.A. '84 committee. And the teams aren't on the CIF Web site like they used to be. They're not on the L.A. '84 Web site either, said Division III coordinator Sonny Okamoto of Gahr High School.
Where to get the All-CIF - er, uh - All-L.A. 84 - team? Who knows. Okamoto said he would send me the D3 team and whatever else he can get his hands on. But he's worried about sending it to me and then having other newspapers ask why they didn't get a copy.
Okamoto and I were musing this morning over the situation - taking the time to pick what used to be a prestigious all-star team for such a huge area and then not letting anyone know who made it. It's kind of like playing the CIF title games in a shuttered gym.
This problem may extend beyond volleyball, too. Okamoto told the dog that if CIF releases the football all-star team and not volleyball, he will be upset.
The dog is already feeling chippy. You shouldn't have to make countless phone calls to learn who made an all-star team. SOMEBODY ought to put it on some Web site. It is 2007 after all.
Anybody else think this is ridiculous - this whole it's-not-my-job, we-don't-want-answer-any-questions foolishness?
A new all-star football game has been added to the postseason mix, according to goldenstatepreps.com.
It's the Navy Marine Corps All-Star Classic, to be held January 26th at 1:15 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton. The game will match graduating seniors from Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties (Navy Coastal Team) against their counterparts from Riverside and San Bernardino counties (Marine Inland Team).
Invited to play from Riverside and San Bernardino counties are:
Riverside
Ryan Bass, Centennial
Brandon Magee, Centennial
Matt Scott, Centennial
Marcel Posey, Centennial
Shelly Lyons, Centennial
Damion Whittington, Norco
Kyle Johnson, Norco
Cedric Foster, North
Jason Koontz, Santiago
Anthony Dye, Santiago
Kenjon Barner, Notre Dame
Eric Quinones, Temescal Canyon
Jonathan Warzeka, Temescal Canyon
Kavon Seaton, Vista Murrieta
Ryan Dannewitz, San Jacinto
Hamani Stevens, Hemet
Richard Helepiko, Moreno Valley
San Bernardino
Damien Holmes, Colton
Daniel Bernard, Colton
Daniel Sorensen, Colton
Chris Polk, Redlands East Valley
Quentin Toailoa, Redlands East Valley
Trey Farquhar, Redlands East Valley
Marvin Jones, Etiwanda
Christian Barker, Etiwanda
Robert Fuller, Arroyo Valley
Dominic Reyes, Hesperia
Ricky Howard, Hesperia
Treshawn Robinson, Upland
A.J. Springer, A.B. Miller
Kriss Proctor, Big Bear
Daniel Simmons, Colony
Brandon Phillips, Redlands
Nik Embernate, Yucaipa
A.J. Pickens, Don Lugo
Cory Harkey, Chino Hills
Rim of the World volleyball star Becky Johnstone has committed to Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Rim coach Linda Pattison told the Prep-dog today.
Johnstone was Most Valuable Player of the Mojave River League. She averaged four kills and 4.8 digs per match.
"I'm excited for her," Pattison said. "They have a new coach and are building a strong program."
Johnstone should enjoy her surrounds, too. Ashland is a beautiful small town that includes Lithia Park, designed by John McLaren, who also designed Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Lithia Park is home to Ashland's famous Shakespearean festival.
Redlands High School is having a pair of alumni basketball games Saturday.
The older alumni will have a game at 5 p.m. in the RHS gym and the newer alumni will take on the current Terriers varsity at 7:30 p.m.
The Redlands varsity is 9-0.
When Rialto hired Byron Wesley as coach during the off-season it got not only an experienced coach, but his 14-year-old son, Byron Wesley Jr. The 6-foot-4 freshman can play, averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds on varsity.
On Wednesday night in a 57-50 win over Fontana, Wesley had 15 points and 13 rebounds. So far the whole father-son thing is working out swimmingly for the Knights.
"It's been very interesting," Bryon Sr. said. "I've never had a freshman before, let alone one who is my son. But I like it because I can keep tabs on him in school and teach him what I want to on the court."
It's also good news for the Knight baseball program. Byron Sr. said his son's best sport is baseball.
Rialto is at crosstown rival Eisenhower on Friday at 6 p.m.
Not only is the Summit girls basketball team off to a hot start again this season (9-1 after a 61-44 win over Chaparral on Tuesday night), but coach Alexis Onishi is doing well off the court as well.
On Tuesday night, after calling in her results, Onishi told the Prep-dog she will marry Summit football coach Tony Barile this spring while on a cruise to Mexico.
Seems that Onishi and Barile have been doing more than diagramming plays while coaching together in football and basketball.
"We've just been holding hands," Onishi quipped.
For more about Onishi, Barile and the Summit girls basketball team, read Thursday's prep column in The Sun.
The dog is not quite sure how John Tawa of prepvolleyball.com arrives at his national rankings, but somehow he manages to rate the top nearly 800 prep volleyball teams in the nation.
Upland (28-6) checked in at No. 373 and Redlands East Valley (33-3) finished at No. 429.
Here's what Tawa had to say about REV:
"Random note: And a child shall lead them. REV had never been to a CIF
section final before this season, but there they were, tied with North
Torrance at 25-25 in Game 5. With Krista Vansant back to serve, the
freshman delivered back to back aces to give the Wildcats the title.
While the entire team is young and talented, Vansant was a standout,
breaking the school record for kills in a season and hitting
percentage, while finishing among the team leaders in blocks, digs
and aces."
Prep-dog's take is that REV is sure to soar in those national rankings next season. Key players Vansant, Tori Brummett, Monica Gardner, Johnna Fouch and Kyla Oropeza all return. There is also help on the way from the middle school ranks.
Coach Tricia Vansant also said she will be upgrading the team's schedule, which will help in the rankings and will toughen the Wildcats for postseason play.
The crystal ball was clear for the Prep-dog last week as I hit on all three state football playoff bowl predictions, forecasting St. Bonaventure (D3) and Oceanside (D2) to win and Corona Centennial (D1) to lose. My DI prediction ... De La Salle 38, Centennial 31 would have been right on the nose had not two dunder-headed Spartans bumped chests after their final TD, drawing a penalty and making an easy PAT a 35-yard boot (which they missed). Oh well.
Some of the De La Salle posters on norcalpreps.com are amusing. One of them took to calling Corona Centennial the "Mexican Beers" - a reference to Corona. Ah, those witty Catholics.
NorCal posters were also unanimous in the dislike for the FSN telecast, although the Prep-dog didn't think it was that bad, save for Petros Papadakis' annoying voice.
Anybody else watch these games? Thumbs up or down on the state bowl extravaganza?
Nice job on the telecast by FSN, despite Papadakis' grating voice. Dude knows his football, though.
That's it for prep football this year ... now it's on to the San Bernardino Kiwanis hoops tourney.
Blair Wishom intercepts for de la salle. Spartans run out clock and win 37-31. Magnificent comeback effort by Centennial. Gotta feel bad for Husky coach Matt Logan. The Huskies can hold their heads up after this one, though.
De La Salle needs to punt ... Centennial will get ball back deep in its own territory following block in back by centennial. Just 2:07 left, ball on Centennial 17.
Centennial faces fourth-and-one with 2:50 left on about the De La Salle 30. Huskies try to run option but Bass gets stuffed well behind line of scrimmage. De La Salle ball. It will try to run out clock.
De La Salle scores on a TD pass with 5:08 left, but gets a 15-yard penalty for a chest bump after the TD, prompting a missed 35-yard extra point. At 37-31, this leaves the door open for a comeback Centennial win.
Ryan Bass scores on a short run and the Huskies add the PAT to make it 31-31. Centennial has now scored 24 consecutive points to tie the game with 8:17 left in the game. Meantime, the Internet posters on norcalpreps.com are fretting.
Wow, Centennial makes a ridiculous interception, then runs a trick play that works and get down to the De La Salle 20 with all kinds of time left. Could be headed for a tie game here.
Down 31-17 with time running out in the third quarter and facing a fourth down near midfield, Centennial runs a beautiful end-around and gets the first down. Then another TD pass makes it 31-24 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Huskies have scored 17 straight points and suddenly it's a game again ... Spartans up by seven with a while quarter left. Maybe SoCal will get that sweep after all.
Wow, a rare mistake by de la salle, which punts the ball into its own man near the goal line. De La Salle recovers in the end zone, but it's a safety and the Spartans' lead is trimmed to 31-17. More importantly, Centennial gets the ball back.
The FSN talking heads said it was only the Spartans' 14th punt of the season, so they're to be excused.
Centennial scores on a 38-yard TD pass and then adds a 2-point conversion and it's 31-15 now, so the Huskies aren't totally out of it with 5 min. left in third quarter. But then, Centennial has shown little ability to stop the Spartan offense, so the knockout punch could be coming.
Prep-dog returns from Walgreen's to see Centennial botch a trick play on fourth-and-three near midfield with nine minutes left in the third quarter. Now De La Salle has scored again and it's 30-7.
It looks like the Spartans will be able to name their score in this one. Probably won't be long until Joe Montana's son is in there at QB, flinging it around for the Spartans. Gonna be a long busride home for the Huskies.
De La Salle has just scored again on a weird pass play in which some guy nobody's ever heard of caught an overthrown pass that seemed intended for another receiver. It's poetic justice, since Corona Centennial seemed to interfere on a pass into the end zone on the previous play (nothing was called), Spartans 24, Huskies 7 late in the first half.
The talking heads from FSN noted the Spartans have outscored opponents 392-28 in the first half this year. Ouch.
It looks like NorCal will get that long-awaited first state playoff bowl win over SoCal, barring a second-half collapse by the Spartans. Maybe the game will turn into a blowout, then I can finally stop listening to Petros Papadakis.
What a difference a few minutes make. De La Salle has scored again and is now up 17-7 over Corona Centennial and the Penn State women have stormed to a 15-8 win in Game 5 to win the national title, three games to two. The dog will now switch his lone focus to prep football ... when I'm not eating, of course.
The evening is getting easier for Prep-dog, who just 45 minutes ago was simultaneously watching De La Salle vs. Centennial prep football, Stanford vs. Penn State volleyball and the 49ers vs. Bengals from Monster Park.
The Niners have prevailed 20-13 and Stanford has rebounded from a 2-0 deficit in the national title match to tie the Nittany Lions 2-2. Meantime, De La Salle leads Centennial 10-7 early in the second quarter.
De La Salle vs. Centennial has lived up to advanced billing. Of course, a blowout win for the Spartans is always possible, but if the Huskies can avoid turnovers, it could go down to the wire.
On FSN they keep referring to these state bowl games as "state championship" games. It's kinda bugging me. These aren't state title games. There was no tournament to determine the representatives - they were hand-picked by a committee.
I'm not even sure the strongest teams are playing in these games. For instance, is Oceanside really better than Crespi? Is Novato really better than Riordan? There's really no telling. But you can bet that if Oceanside wins, the Pirates will be calling themselves "state champs" down in San Diego County and the same goes for Novato up in Marin County.
At halftime of the Novato vs. Oceanside, an FSN talking head discussed with a CIF-State type about the prospect of Northern California hosting some future state playoff bowl games. Though the Home Depot Center seems like a perfect venue, it seems like NorCal should get a chance to host every other year.
The problem is, where to go? The refurbished Kezar Stadium in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is beautiful, but is probably too small for games of this magnitude. Stanford and Cal may be too big. The same goes for the McAfee Coliseum and Monster Park. Then there's AT@T Stadium (home of the S.F. Giants) and that's a baseball stadium.
That probably leaves San Jose State's Spartan Stadium as the most viable option - that's where the Central Coast Section finals were formally held. It's about the right size and is near a major airport. Yeah, that gets Prep-dog's vote.
We're mid-way through the third quarter of the DII state playoff bowl game from Carson and the dog is still watching on FSN. Oceanside has just just intercepted and has tied the game 14-14 with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
The last time the Prep-dog saw NorCal representative Novato play was 1972. It was playing San Francisco Archbishop Riordan at Kezar Stadium and my cousin was playing for Riordan. This was so long ago that Bob Toledo - who later became the coach at UCLA - was coaching Riordan.
Novato isn't as big or fast as Oceanside, but seems well-coached. The Hornets have also won 25 straight games dating back to its season-opening loss last year. Oceanside has the momentum now after that big interception, so I look for the Pirates to pull this one out.
The dog missed today's Division III state playoff bowl game between Ventura St. Bonaventure and Modesto Central Catholic (St. Bonnie's won). Saw the highlights on FSN though and it looked like an exciting game. But who was the St. Bonnie's coach acting like a knucklehood and hamming it up for the TV cameras at every possible chance - singing, break-dancing and who knows what else? Can't see Dick Bruich doing that.
Also annoying is FSN announcer Petros Papadakis, the former USC player. Like listening to finger nails on a blackboard.
The Prep-dog was driving through Corona today and visible in front of several businesses was the lighted message "Go Huskies" - as in Corona Centennial, which plays De La Salle tonight at the Home Depot Center in Carson in the state Division I football bowl game.
Will Centennial bring home the first playoff bowl title to the Inland Empire? The dog thinks not. I don't see De La Salle stumbling on the big stage two consecutive years. But the Huskies have the talent to pull off an upset, so it will be interesting.
The 50th annual San Bernardino Kiwanis boys basketball tournament is Dec. 26 through 29 at Cajon and San Gorgonio high schools.
Here are the opening matchups for Dec. 26:
At Cajon,
- Vista Del Lago vs. Bloomington, 3 p.m.
-Pacific vs. Redlands East Valley, 4:45 p.m.
-Silverado vs. Fontana, 6:30 p.m.
-Rim of the World vs. Cajon, 8:15 p.m.
At San Gorgonio,
-Colton vs. Kaiser, 3 p.m.
-Barstow vs. Redlands, 4:45 p.m.
-Yucaipa vs. Sultana, 6:30 p.m.
-Banning vs. San Gorgonio, 8:15 p.m.
The championship game is Dec. 29 at 8:15 p.m. at San Gorgonio.
San Gorgonio is the defending champion.
Who do you think will win this year's tournament?
On Thursday morning the Prep-dog reported that Bloomington football coach Don Markham is resigning, to become the first athletic director and football coach at American Sports University in downtown San Bernardino.
Markham is a legendary name in California football, having won five CIF-SS titles, including three at Bloomington.
But he's taking over at a fledgling, unaccredited university with 25 students and no football field ... no fields of any kind, as a matter of fact.
Is this a pipe dream? Will Markham be back at Bloomington or Colton or Rialto, coaching the preps in a few years?
Judging by the looks of the refurbished old San Bernardino Sun building - the site of American Sports U. - university chairman Harry Hwang has some deep pockets. And if you want to talk about unlikely developments, how about Hwang arriving here from South Korea with just two suitcases and no money and becoming wealthy enough in property development to start his own institution of higher learning?
Hwang has some grand plans. The university wants to close off a section of Fourth Street and make it into a block-long walking area, protected by iron gates. The university has dorm buildings going in across the street in buildings that used to be a title company and house law offices.
The ASU campus itself is rather amazing, especially to someone like the Prep-dog who worked at this building for five years. There are classrooms, a food court, meeting rooms, a theater, a large weight room, an aerobics area, etc. There is even talk of installing an indoor swimming pool. Don't put it past Hwang, who hopes to have 500 students in the near future.
Hwang and Markham want to see Eagle football soar. It will have to start small, at the NAIA level. Markham talks of playing the likes of Azusa Pacific, the University of San Diego and the like. He said there is some interest from outside in forming a conference that would include American Sports U.
The university will be dangling scholarships and searching for fields and presumably ordering equipment and uniforms at some point. It doesn't end with football, either. Markham said volleyball, basketball, soccer and some more obscure sports like Tae Kwon Do are on the horizon.
Then there's the matter of Markham's enthusiasm. He may be 68 years old, but as someone who has covered his teams for seven years, I have never seen him so obviously excited about anything ... like a kid on Christmas morning was how i think I put it in my initial article.
So what do you think ... pipe dream or eminently do-able? Can Hwang and Markham pull it off and have a thriving university with a respected sports program within a couple of years? If nothing else, this will be something to keep a close eye on.
The All-San Andreas League football team was announced this week. Here it is:
OFFENSE
MVP
Washington, Travell 12th Colton
1st Team 2nd Team
Receivers
Sorenson, Daniel 12th Colton Williams, Marcus 12th SGHS
Collins, Devon 12th Arroyo Collier, Isiah 11th Cajon
Holmes, Damien 12th Colton Newman, Cavin 12th SBHS
Booker, Dwayne 12th SBHS George, Donyale 12th Arroyo
O-Line
Bernard, Daniel 12th Colton Murrillo, Carlos 12th Arroyo
Philipp, Mike 11th Arroyo Whitaker, Dennis 12th SGHS
Wilburn, Ray 12th Cajon Patterson- Moore, Jeffery 12th Colton
Garcia, Tommy 12th Colton Rodriguez, Ray 12th Colton
Sellers, Jacob 12th SBHS Griffin, Darrin 11th Cajon
Backs
Reyes, Nick 12th Colton Vasquez, Nick 11th Colton
Kazee, Walter 11th Cajon White, Demarcus 11th Arroyo
Stallion, Dwayne 12th Colton Martinez, Taylor 11th Cajon
Fuller, Robert 12th Arroyo Meadors, Tre' 11th SGHS
James, Kristin 12th SBHS Marchena, Marcio 11th Pacific
Kicker
Maldanado, Alejandro 10th Colton
DEFENSE
MVP
Holmes, Damien 12th Colton
1st Team 2nd Team
D-Line
Garcia, Adam 12th Colton Rucker, Taurean 12th Arroyo
Brown, Keenan 12th Arroyo Boykins, Alex 11th Arroyo
Williams, Isiah 11th Cajon Osborne, Derrick 10th SGHS
Patterson-Moore, Jeffrey 12th Colton Lazarus, William 12th Colton
Linebackers
Jones, Lemar 12th Arroyo Fifita, Ofa 10th Arroyo
Guzman, JR 12th Pacific Cooper, Jeffrey 11th Cajon
Aguayo, Steven 12th Cajon Agudo, Angel 12th Colton
Niess, Kenny 12th Colton Jimenez, Anthony 12th SGHS
Def. Backs
Sorensen, Daniel 12th Colton Williams, Anthony 12th SGHS
Washington, Travell 12th Colton Berhe, Nat 11th Colton
Locke, Fred 12th Cajon Marchena, Marcio 11th Pacific
Jackson, Ansley 12th Arroyo Booker, Dwayne 12th SBHS
Kicker
Sorensen, Daniel 12th Colton
HONORABLE MENTION
Arroyo Valley Hooker, Darius 12th WR Bon, Peter 12th DB
Cajon Salaiz, Mark 11th OL Anderson, Andrew 11th LB
Colton Slater, Ronald 12th OL Gomez, David 12th LB
Pacific Kiriakos, David 11th QB Chappel, Kenneth 11th DB
San Bernardino Johnson, Shamon 12th QB Booker, Adrien 11th LB
San Gorgonio Allen-Jackson, Delshawn 12th OL Anderson, Omar 12th DE
Redlands East Valley star running back Chris Polk has committed to the University of Washington, according to Internet reports.
Polk originally committed to USC, but re-opened the process and has decided upon the Huskies.
He is the third REV star in recent years to gravitate toward Seattle. Quarterback Ronnie Fouch received a full ride to Washington after the 2006-2007 school year and red-shirted this season. Another REV star turned Husky is safety Marquis Persley.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Polk rushed for 1,200 yards and 34 touchdowns this season, although it's possible he could switch to wide receiver in college.
Scout.com ranks Polk as the No. 9 running back in the country.
He chose Washington and coach Tyrone Willingham over offers from USC, Oregon, California and others, according to superprep.com.
"It's very big news for the family," Polk's mom, Edrena, told Scout.com., which added that Polk will graduate early and enroll at Washington January 7, in plenty of time for spring practice.
Don Markham said this morning he will resign as football coach at Bloomington High School and will become the athletic director and football coach at the new American Sports University in downtown San Bernardino.
The university is on the site of the old San Bernardino Sun building. It plans to have a football team within one or two years.
"I won't be coaching at Bloomington any more," Markham said. "But I'll be there for the rest of the year and if the new coach isn't that familiar with weight training, than I'll continue to run that."
Markham, 68, won 309 games during his prep coaching career, with 110 losses and one tie. He won CIF-SS titles at L.A. Baptist and Colton, as well as three at Bloomington.
His 1994 Bloomington team set a then-record national scoring mark of 880 points, as the Bruins went 14-0, steamrollering teams with its trademark double-wing offense.
Markham's sudden move to the new sports university came by chance.
"I was downtown at the courthouse and I drove by it," Markham said. "I'd never seen it and didn't know anything about it. But there was a sign up that said they were starting a football team."
Markham spoke several times with university chairman Harry Hwang and Hwang agreed to hire Markham for the newly created dual positition.
Markham, who has served as coach during two stints at Bloomington, said he has no mixed emotions about leaving the school where he achieved his greatest success.
"We tried hard to get over the hump," he said. "But we were stuck at 7-4 and 6-5, so I don't feel bad at all. This will be a new challenge. And it will allow some of the young bucks to get a chance (at the Bloomington job)."
Markham said he already has some coaches lined up, including his former Colton star, Marvin Williams.
American University only has about 25 students now, but dorms are being built on the block-long property down from the courthouse. There is also a weight room and locker room.
Markham said he hopes to get Arrowhead Credit Union Ballpark to play the Eagles' home games. Eagles is their recently adopted nickname, by the way.
The veteran coach figures the Eagles will start out at the NAIA level. He said some players will be on full scholarship and that most will be on at least partial scholarship.
The university offers Bachelor of Science degrees in sports education. Markham said most students are there to become sports trainers, coaches, physical education instructors or to learn sports management.
Besides football, Markham said the university will look into offering basketball, volleyball and some less-prominent sports such as Tae Kwon Do.
"It's exciting," Markham said. "I want to make this as big as I can."
Markham has not officially resigned at Bloomington, but that's in the works.
He will be the second prominent area prep football coach to step aside this week, with Brian Kidd at Carter being forced to resign on Monday.
The just-released All-Citrus Belt League volleyball team:
First team
Johnna Fouch (Redlands East Valley) –MVP
Kyla Oropeza (Redlands East Valley)
Krista Vansant (Redlands East Valley)
Lauren Reed (Redlands)
Gloria Herbert (Redlands)
Molly Crooks (Yucaipa)
Krista Martin (Yucaipa)
Bryanne Evans (Rialto)
Stephany Dominguez (A.B. Miller)
Tiauna Bailey (Fontana)
Samantha Middleborn (Carter)
Evelyn Ortiz (Eisenhower)
Second team
Tori Brummett (Redlands East Valley)
Gretchen Stankey (Redlands East Valley)
Monica Gardner (Redlands East Valley)
Jen Nassef (Redlands East Valley)
Kelsi Mathey (Redlands)
Rachel Bernhardt (Redlands)
Alex Onodera (Yucaipa)
Briana Weir (Yucaipa)
Justine Nicolas (A.B. Miller)
Lura Lewis (A.B. Miller)
La’Shay Lang (Fontana)
Diana Hernandez (Eisenhower)
Redlands' Kyle Adama was named Tuesday as co-player of the year in CIF-SS Division V water polo.
Adama shared the honor with Murrieta Valley's Jordan Koeppen. Redlands defeated Murrieta Valley 7-6 in the section title match.
Redlands' Jeff Lamb was named coach of the year. He led the Terriers to a 25-6 record.
Making the first team from Redlands were junior Andrew Heine, senior Tyler Harp and senior Joey Hale. Other area players making the D5 first team were: Senior Jake Hickey (Yucaipa), senior Will Hearon (Yucaipa), senior Brandon Corns (Yucaipa), senior Nevin Kay (Rancho Cucamonga), junior Patrick Kelleher (Los Osos).
Making the second team were: Senior Jimmy Davis (Redlands), senior Jeff Hansen (Redlands), junior Danny Anderson (Redlands), senior Kevin Garcia (Yucaipa), senior Brian Terwilliger (Yucaipa), junior Michael Wong (Los Osos), sophomore Mike Robinson (Norco).
Earning third team were: Junior Matt Hansen (Redlands), senior Nick Tate (Yucaipa), senior Evyn Griffith (Los Osos), freshman Matt Wong (Los Osos), junior Garrett Womack (Redlands East Valley), senior Jared Olivo (REV) and senior Steven Johnson (Upland).
Tuesday afternoon Prep-dog reported that Carter football coach Brian Kidd had resigned, with more than a little nudge from the administration. This surprised some, considering the Lions had made the CIF-SS playoffs two consecutive years under Kidd.
The coaching carousel continues to spin wildly for prep football coaches in Rialto. I can't think of anyone since the days Tom Hoak was the coach at Eisenhower who has lasted as many as three years. Kidd made it through just 25 games, or two-plus seasons.
So now what for Carter, which at some point will hire its third new coach in its brief history? This isn't what the Lions had in mind when they originally hired Mike Churchill to launch the program such a short time ago.
Kidd told the dog Tuesday his entire staff has received its walking papers, though Rialto Unified School District spokesperson Syeda Jafri could not confirm that, as of Tuesday afternoon. <