February 2008 Archives

60-45 final ... valley.

29 down by 12 with 2 min. left. I won't blog again until well after the game unless the wildcats make a miraculous comeback. Sorry, deadline calls.

Not looking good for Wildcats.

29 trails 41-35 entering 4th qtr.

The first half is already over ... it lasted 32 real-time minutes, which is good for Prep-dog's 10:15 p.m. deadline situation. I know you're concerned.

Valley Christian is leading 27-23. Harris came alive in the second quarter with seven points (nine for the game). Alston continues to play well off the bench as he tossed in another 3 and has nine points for the game.

But Valley is very well-drilled on offense and has a bunch of guys who can score, led by Kurtis Korver (seven points). On defense, Valley is ordinary and 29 has had lots of chances, but is pressing slightly. It also needs to find someone besides Harris and Alston who can score. Alston's ankle looks OK.

It's 15-11 valley christian after first quarter. The Crusaders led 8-0. Brad Alston came off 29 bench to provide lift with 2 3-pointers ... he also hurt his ankle, but is gutting it out. Montreal Harris has 2 points.

Utilizing a kite and a key, Prep-dog has achieved electricity at courtside. I found a power strip. So maybe i can do a little limited blogging on this game.

Twentynine Palms coach Larry Bowden approached press row to say hello and the dude's all dressed up. He says the administration "makes him." Meantime, the dog is offsetting Bowden with a Hawaiian shirt. Of course, none of this has anything to do with the at game, but it's getting me through warm-ups.

I'll blog again when I can.

Prep-dog is courtside at Colony High School, waiting for the Twentynine Palms vs. Valley Christian boys basketball CIF-SS title game to start. Right now Rosamond is en route to a win over St. Bonaventure (probably). Rosamond cheerleaders are right behind me, making that high-pitched "Whew" shriek that means nothing and could break glass. I'm glad I brought the Advil.

On the way here I stopped at an Ontario Starbucks that was populated by Fed Ex workers. One of them told a Starbucks employee that he heard their recent "barista training" was to make Starbucks employees more friendly, like Hooters girls. I don't know if that's politically correct, but it made the Prep-dog laugh.

Rosamond has just beaten St. Bonnies 51-44 and the delirious Rosamond cheerleaders are making that shrieking whew noise again. I'll be glad to see them leave.

The dog will not be blogging during the 29 Palms game because I will be keeping stats and also there is no electrical outlet at courtside, so I need to conserve.

I just have one thing left to say for now ... Wheeewww!!!!!

The Norco softball team is ranked 16th in the nation in the rivals.com Fab 50 rankings released today.

La Palma Kennedy is ranked No. 1 and Corona Santiago is second. Santiago went 26-6 last season, as did Norco.

It seems like Twentynine Palms junior basketball and football standout Montreal Harris really is a peach of a guy. Here's a story the Prep-dog forgot to include in today's feature on Harris.

In a recent Wildcat playoff game, Harris missed a dunk. That prompted loud laughter from the opposing coach, said Wildcat coach Larry Bowden.

Later in the game, Harris responded with one of his resounding dunks, then flashed a menacing stare at the opposing coach. That drew the ire of Bowden, who scolded the Wildcat player.

"The next morning Montreal called me and apologized," Bowden said. "Then he asked if he should call the (opposing) coach and apologize to him."

That's not something you hear every day.

Fontana will host intra-city foe Summit in football on September 19, Fohi athletic director Evelyn Vance told the Prep-dog today.

"Hopefully someday all (Fontana) teams will play each other and make a lot of money," Vance said.

The Steelers open the 2008 season at Banning, return home to meet Summit in the first football game between the teams and then play at San Bernardino.

The upcoming season will be Summit's first with seniors.

Does your school have its 2008 football schedule set? Post it here or e-mail it to the Prep-dog.

-John Murphy
berdooman@aol.com

Ryan Smith has resigned as the Fontana boys basketball coach and has been replaced by Summit assistant coach Brent Tuttle, Fohi athletic director Evelyn Vance just told the Prep-dog. The appointment is pending school board approval.

"He went up to Summit with (Steve) Hickey went it opened, but he played on our (CIF-SS title) team here and is the welding teacher and is well-known," Vance said. "He's also been the assistant softball coach here."

Speaking by cell phone from his welding shop today, Tuttle sounded excited.

"We want to instill Steeler pride, for sure," Tuttle said. "I'm an ex-Fohi player and a graduate and now I'm getting the opportunity to coach, just like Lance Ozier with the football program. Fontana has some tough kids, but it will be a long road because we'll be running with teams like Eisenhower and Redlands who have a lot of players coming back. We want to instill a work ethic and work hard so that we can compete."

Tuttle played on Fohi's 1994-95 CIF-SS title team, which defeated Long Beach Poly in the finals. The team, coached by Mike Southworth, included future NBA player Cory Benjamin, along with Jamal and Dwight Slaughter. Tuttle described himself as a "role-player" on the team.

Smith, the outgoing coach, went 25-31 during his two-year tenure as the Fohi coach, including a 9-18 record in 2007-2008. The program was hurt by the move and transfer of star junior Demetrius Walker to San Juan Capistrano JSerra.

Walker, who had his picture on the cover of Sports Illustrated as an eighth grader and a long story written on him speculating that he might be the "next Lebron," led the Steelers in scoring as a freshman and sophomore.
and was named first-team all-county as a sophomore.

Fontana went 7-14 under former coach Mark Soderberg when Walker was a freshman and 16-13 under Smith with Walker was a sophomore.

Vista Murrieta is second and Yucaipa 19th in the calhisports.com state baseball rankings.

Long Beach Wilson claimed the top spot and San Mateo Serra checks in at No. 3.

Defending CIF-SS D2 champ Vista Murrieta returns all-state underclassman shortstop Derek Legg, along with ace pitcher Brian Valenzuela (10-1, 1.23) and two more standout pitchers in Tyler Simmons and Taylor Garrison.

Aptos, loaded with players off the Little League team that won the West Region in San Bernardino several years ago, is 12th. Kevin Eichhorn and Kyle Anderson lead the Mariners.

Yucaipa is paced by Matt Davidson, the calhisports.com state Freshman of the Year and Sun Player of the Year as a ninth grader (before he was even on the Yucaipa campus). Davidson had a 9-2 record and 1.20 earned run average along with six home runs for the Thunderbirds last season. Future NCAA DI pitchers Scott Snodgress (Stanford) and Adam Miller (BYU) round out a solid staff.

Look for Los Gatos, off to a quick start, to easily crack next week's list - though that will be up to calhisports.

The 2007-2008 school has shaped up as a big one for Summit girls basketball coach Alexis Onishi and her assistant coach, Tony Barile.

Not only are the two getting married this spring on a cruise ship, but their SkyHawk basketball team has reached rarefied air with Saturday's CIF-SS Division III-AA title-game appearance against Los Angeles Marlborough. The game is at 2:45 p.m. at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

"It's definitely exciting," Onishi said. "It's the first time in school history (for a section title game). None of the kids here has ever been at a high school before, so this is all new to them. To see them go through the whole CIF process is pretty cool."

When you consider that Summit has no seniors, their quest becomes even more improbable.

Marlborough (20-9) is no easy touch, having won five consecutive section titles.

The Mustangs have lost their share of games, but have played a killer schedule, including setbacks to such powerhouses as Perris (54-37), San Jose Archbishop Mitty (58-37), Cajon (66-51) and Ventura (59-51).

The Mustangs' best player is guard Nikki Speed (12.1 points per game), who will play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game.

Onishi says the SkyHawks' lack of experience is a two-edged sword. On one hand Marlborough has been here before and could be more poised at nervous time. On the other hand, she suspects her girl's lack of savvy and knowledge of the event could pay dividends - sort of an ignorance-is-bliss philosophy.

At any rate, it will be exciting for Summit, which is led by junior 6-2 center Meghin Williams and sophomore 5-6 guard Arielle George, along with Adrianne Thomas, Maiya Michel and Alyssa Domingo.

The SkyHawks (28-1) have won 27 consecutive games since blowing a 16-point lead against Silveradome to lose 59-48.

"We led 20-4 in the first quarter and missed about every free throw for the rest of the game," Onishi said.

Summit, which hasn't experienced a lot of athletic success in its short history, is revved up. A rooter bus has been chartered and there will be a pep rally on Friday.

Win or lose, the excitement doesn't end for Summit, which has already earned automatic entry into the state tournament. That's the summit for any CIF-state team of any name.

James Gordon, 37, was named Wednesday as the new football coach at Indio High School, Indio athletic secretary Fran Espinoza told the Prep-dog today.

Gordon succeeds athletic director Ovidio Machado as the Rajahs' coach. Machado coached the team for the past 12 seasons.

Indio went 5-5 in 2007 under Machado, but has generally struggled for the past decade.

Gordon was the Rajahs offensive coordinator the past two seasons.

Approved at Wednesday night's Rialto Unified School District board meeting was the loan agreement from the City of Rialto Redevelopment Agency for $3 million to complete the final phase of construction for the Rialto High School Stadium. District spokesperson Syeda Jafri in response to the Prep-dog's query, just left me a phone message confirming the good news for the Knights.

Rialto athletic director Frank Camacho told the dog on Monday that the pressbox and two snack bars with adjoining restrooms will be built during this final phase.

Also, Jafri said Pauline Almada has been approved as the Carter boys volleyball coach.

Corona Centennial junior linebacker Vontaze Burfict verbally committed to USC today, reports scout.com.

Burfict had told various media outlets he would commit to the Trojans as soon as offered. He has been ranked the No. 9 player in the nation for the class of 2009 by fvsports.com.

As a junior, the 6-2, 235-pound Burfict had 162 tackles.

He led the Huskies to the CIF-State Division I bowl game, where they narrowly lost to De La Salle.

The CIF-SS boys and girls soccer times, dates and sites have been released. Here they are for area teams:

BOYS

(All games Saturday)

D4
Jurupa Valley vs. Santa Margarita at Warren High School, 10 a.m.

D5
Hesperia vs. Oaks Christian at Warren High School, 6 p.m.

D6
Desert Mirage vs. Arrowhead Christian at Downey High School, noon

GIRLS

(All games Saturday)

D4
Granite Hills vs. La Serna at Downey High School, 4 p.m.

The sites, dates and times for all of the CIF-SS boys and girls basketball games have been set. Here they are:

BOYS BASKETBALL
Colony High School, Thursday, February 28, 2008 - Tickets $9, $5, $5
6:30 p.m. - Division VAA - Pacific Hills vs. Lutheran/La Verne
8:15 p.m. - Division IVAA - Jurupa Valley vs. Patriot

Colony High School - Friday, February 29, 2008 - Tickets $9, $5, $5
6:30 p.m. - Division VA - Rosamond vs. St. Bonaventure
8:15 p.m. - Division IVA - Valley Christian/Cerritos vs. Twentynine Palms

Honda Center - Saturday, March 1, 2008 - Day Session - Tickets $9, $5, $5
9:00 a.m. - Division IIIAA - Campbell Hall vs. Price
10:45 a.m. - Division IIIA - West Valley vs. Perris
12:30 p.m. - Division IIA - Rancho Verde vs. Knight
2:15 p.m. - Division IIAA - Colony vs. Bishop Montgomery

Honda Center - Saturday, March 1, 2008 - Night Session - Tickets $12, $9, $5, $5
6:30 p.m. - Division IAA - Dominguez vs. Mater Dei
8:15 p.m. - Division IA - M.L. King vs. Etiwanda

GIRLS BASKETBALL - All Tickets $9, $5, $5
The Walter Pyramid - Friday, February 29, 2008
3:00 p.m. - Division VA - Crossroads vs. Sierra Canyon
4:45 p.m. - Division IVA - Laguna Hills vs. University
6:30 p.m. - Division IAA - Poly/Long Beach vs. Millikan
8:15 p.m. - Division IA - Redondo Union vs. Mira Costa

The Walter Pyramid - Saturday, March 1, 2008 - Day Session
9:30 a.m. - Division VAA - Whittier Christian vs. Maranatha
11:15 a.m. - Division IIIA - Colony vs. Chaffey
1:00 p.m. - Division IVAA - St. Mary’s Academy vs. Bellarmine-Jefferson
2:45 p.m. - Division IIIAA - Summit vs. Marlborough
The Walter Pyramid - Saturday, March 1, 2008 - Night Session
6:30 p.m. - Division IIA - Ayala vs. Cajon
8:15 p.m. - Division IIAA - A.B. Miller vs. Los Osos

(Tickets will be available Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning at the participating schools). At Cajon, Cowboys athletic director Rich Imbriani said arrangements for a student rooter bus have been made.

Parking @ Colony HS - $4.00
Parking @ Honda Center - $12.00
Parking @ Walter Pyramid - $5.00

Beaumont High School football coach Chet James has resigned, Cougars athletic director Wayne Hackney told the Prep-dog today.

The position is now open and Hackney said the school district has received "four or five" applicants.

"We're looking for someone to turn the program around," Hackney said. "We haven't had a lot of wins the past three seasons."

Beaumont has gone 2-8 in each of the last three seasons, including two under James, who succeeded Gary Harvey.

James, 60, said he told his team prior to its last game that he would be retiring from coaching, although he didn't make it official until later.

"I told them I was going to graduate with them," said James, a Beaumont graduate. "I'd also like to spend more time with my family. My son (Ian) is 16 and I didn't get to see him play any of his games because he was on the JV team."

James has also coached in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado and was an assistant superintendent in Palo Alto, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

He formerly coached softball and basketball at Beaumont, taking the basketball team to the playoffs two consecutive years, including a trip to the quarterfinals his last season. In softball, he coached the Cougars to a championship.

He will continue to teach at Beaumont.

Beaumont is a school of 2,100 students that is expected to grow by 100 by the fall, due to a large freshman class and general growth in the area, Hackney said. The school competes in the Mountain Pass League.

- John Murphy
berdooman@aol.com

The CIF-SS Division VI boys soccer semifinals between Desert Hot Springs and Arrowhead Christian Academy are at 5 p.m. today at Redlands Highs School.

Two area teams have moved up in the calhisports.com state girls basketball rankings and one leaps into the Top 20.

San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (27-0) is still No. 1. The irish are big favorites in the Central Coast Section semifinals against Soquel and hotshot Hannah Passafuime, who scored a school-record 49 points in a win against San Mateo on Saturday.

Miller (25-2) moves from No. 8 to No. 7 following last week's victories against Rancho Cucamonga and Inglewood. Chloe Wells scored a combined 56 points in the two games and Briana Hall added 44. Miller plays Etiwanda today at 7:30 p.m. at Fontana in the CIF-SS semis.

Cajon (27-3) improves from No. 12 to No. 11 following its victories last week over Alhambra Keppel and Perris. Coach Mark Lehman's team got 27 points from Layshia Clarendon and 17 points and 16 rebounds from Darshae Burnside against Perris. Cajon meets Ayala in the CIF-SS finals on either Friday or Saturday at the Pyramid in Long Beach. Ayala defeated Cajon 47-46 in November.

Ayala (27-4) jumps from un-ranked to No. 19 after CIF-SS victories last week against Vista Murrieta and Palmdale Knight. Rebekah Gardner led the Bulldogs by combining for 46 points in the two victories.

Football?
Wrestling?
Cross country?
Swimming?
Badminton?

Which sport is the most strenuous, takes the most training and requires the most determination? Does its athletes wear shoulder pads, singlets, waffle-soled shoes, Speedos or do they hit shuttlecocks? And why? Tell the Prep-dog.

By the way, the fact that former Colton badminton coach Sandi Guidi used to give her players penny candy during matches does not eliminate the shuttlecock set.

The top four spots in the calhisports.com boys basketball rankings stayed the same, but several area teams moved up a notch or two.

Mater Dei (30-0) continues to hold down the top spot. Meantime, Riverside King moves from No. 11 to No. 10, Etiwanda climbs from 13 to 11 and Eisenhower bolts from 20 to 17 after its impressive win over Cajon.

The times and sites for some CIF-SS events have been announced. They are:

Boys basketball
Finals
Thursday
At Colony
8:15 p.m.
Division IV-AA
Jurupa Valley vs. Patriot
Friday
At Colony
DIV-A
8:15 p.m.
Cerritos Valley Christian vs. Twentynine Palms

Semifinals
DI-A
Chino HIlls vs. Riverside King at Citrus Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Etiwanda vs. Glendora at Damien, 7:30 p.m.
DII-AA
Bishop Montgomery vs. Eisenhower at Cajon, 7:30 p.m.
Arroyo Valley vs. Colony at Pacific, 7:30 p.m.

Girls basketball
DII-AA semifinals
Tuesday
Etiwanda vs. Miller at Fontana, 7:30 p.m.
Norco vs. Los Osos at Alta Loma, 7:30 p.m.

Friday or Saturday
DII-A
Finals
At the Walter Pyramid
Cajon vs. Ayala, TBA
DIII-AA
Marlborough vs. Summit, TBA
D3A
Colony vs. Chaffey, TBA

Boys Soccer
Tuesday
Semifinals
D4
Jurupa Valley at Kaiser, 3:15 p.m.
D5
Mountain View at Hesperia, 3:15 p.m.
D6
Desert Hot Springs at ACA, 3:15 p.m.

Girls Soccer
Tuesday
D4
Serrano at Granite Hills, 3:15 p.m.

Last week Prep-dog reported that Bob Burt had accepted the job as the Riverside Notre Dame football coach, pending the approval of the Archdiocese of San Bernardino.

Minutes ago Notre Dame athletic director Ken Scott called to say Burt has gotten that approval.

"I think it's a great hire," Scott said. "I think he'll keep the program at the level it's been at for the last three years. We're very excited about it and he can't wait to get started."

Burt is the athletic director at Temescal Canyon and was also the football coach until 2002. He had a 57-35-2 record with the Titans, including winning a CIF-SS title in 1995.

He is retiring as the A.D. at Temescal Canyon in June and accepting the district's retirement package. In order to coach in the district, he would not have been able to take the retirement package (since a full-time faculty member is desired). But Notre Dame was seeking a walk-on coach, making the assignment idea for the veteran educator/coach and his family, he said.

"I absolutely cannot wait," Burt said. "I'm very excited about getting things going. There will be a lot of adjustments - me to them, them to me and I'll need to assemble a staff. But the sooner I can start, the better."

Burt plans to meet with players on Tuesday.

He replaces Pat Thompson, who resigned after last season.

Notre Dame went 8-5 in 2007, including a 2-2 record in the Mountain Pass League.

Bloomington High School faculty member Bill Webb has been selected as the athletic director at Bloomington High School, Webb told the Prep-dog minutes ago.

Webb, 56, is a Highland resident who graduated from San Gorgonio High School and Cal State San Bernardino. He played football, baseball and wrestled at San G. and played football at San Bernardino Valley College.

"I want to get the Victory With Honor program going at our school," Webb said. "It's overdue. And we want to do the right things and remember that student athletes are students first, then athletes."

Webb, who will begin his A.D. duties July 1, will replace Ron Taylor, who is resigning in June.

Webb was at Colton High School for 23 years and has been at Bloomington for the past three years. His current post is running the credit recovery labratory, for students who fall behind on attaining credits.

Webb is married (Karen) and has two daughters, Jennifer and Janice. Both were volleyball stars at Colton. Jennifer also was a three-time All-Big Ten volleyball player at the University of Iowa. She is the former Redlands High School girls volleyball coach and still teaches at Redlands.

There will be an East vs. West soccer all-star event March 22 at Rialto High School.

Dubbed the Inland Empire East vs. West Soccer Showcase, the event is sponsored by USA Trident F.C. It is for high school seniors.

The girls play at 4 p.m. and the boys at 6 p.m.

The tryout date is March 18 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at San Bernardino High School.

More information: Joshua Brown, 951-551-2198. .

Former Victor Valley High School wrestling star Dan Henderson, who helped the Jackrabbits to the 1987 CIF-State title, continues to excel in Ultimate Fighting.

Henderson returns to the octagon in March to take on middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 82 in Columbus, Ohio.

Henderson, who goes by the nicknames "Hendo" and "Hollywood," is the son of former Victor Valley College wrestling coach Bill Henderson.

Henderson competed for the U.S. in Greco-Roman wrestling in two Olympics. He is known for having a tough chin and for being good on the mat, as are most ex-wrestlers.

The 38-year-old lives in Temecula.

The mysterious FVSports has ranked the top 150 prep football players in the nation for the class of 2,009. A dude named Bryan Bonafede did the research. Prep-dog doesn't know anything about him ... could be a guy in a bar in Tarzana for all I know. His work can be viewed at fvsports.com.

Anyway, the only semi-local to make the grade is Corona Centennial linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who checks in at No. 9 on the list. The 6-2, 230-pounder is said to have his heart set on USC.

Oh, and by the way, Mater Dei quarterback Matt Barkley was judged to be numero uno.

o

Something called FVSports has ranked the top 100 prep football players in the nation for the class of 2010.

A google search of FVSports came up with "Fans Voice Sports." Seems to be a guy named Brian Bonafede who compiles such lists. Who is he? Who knows? But it's a fun list, and we'll follow it by naming area guys on his class of 2009 list.

Here are the semi-locals for 2010:

No. 50: Defensive tackle Ronald Powell, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde.

No. 66: Defensive tackle Kirifi Tauls, Corona Santiago
.
Also, running back D.J. Morgan of Taft is ranked as the No. 1 junior-to-be in the nation.

Vista Murrieta has been ranked 12th in the rivals.com fab 50 national baseball rankings.

The Nighthawks have Long Beach State recruit Derek Legg at shortstop, along with pitcher Brian Valenzuela (10-1, 1.23 earned run average last season) and two other top pitchers in Taylor Garrison and John Weise. Murrieta Valley is the defending CIF-SS Division II champion.

Other California teams cracking the top 50 are: Long Beach Wilson (2nd), San Mateo Serra (20th), Bakersfield Centennial (32nd), Chatsworth (36th), San Jose Valley Christian (40th) and La Mesa Grossmont (48th).

An unranked team to watch could be Aptos of Northern California, the bulk of the team being from the Aptos Little League team from several years ago that won the Western Regional in San Bernardino. Aptos is led by star pitcher and Santa Clara University recruit Kevin Eichhorn, son of former major league relief pitcher Mark Eichhorn. Aptos has beefed up its schedule this season, but had a game scheduled against No. 20 Serra rained out on Friday.

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Prep-dog traveled to Arroyo Valley tonight for the CIF-SS DII-AA quarterfinal boys basketball game against Valencia. The Hawks overtook the Vikings 71-67, scoring the last nine points.

Keenan Brown won it for the Hawks with a layup off an assist from Deshaun Jones with 14 seconds left. The Hawks led 68-67 at the time.

Byron Moses then came up with a big steal for Arroyo and was fouled. He made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 5.8 seconds as the Hawks secured the win.

"They were a good team," Moses said of Valencia. "I knew it was going to be a good game. I knew that before it even started."

Added Arroyo Valley center Joe Richard, who was plagued by foul trouble but still scored 13 points and took nine rebounds: "I'm relieved. We haven't lost here since my sophomore year."

Arroyo Valley (20-9) fell to San Gorgonio in early January of the 2005-2006 season, when Richard was a sophomore. It hasn't lost at home since.

The Hawks' James Sanders had 26 points and Jermaine Anderson had 15 to go along with Richard's 13.

It was the 11th 20-win season for AVHS coach Scott Smith in 13 tries during his stints at Pacific and Arroyo.

Arroyo Valley meets Colony in the semis on Tuesday at a site to be determined by a coin flip. If the Hawks win the flip, it will be at an alternate site such as SBHS, San Gorgonio or Cajon.

Skyler Seymour led Valencia (21-8) with 16 points.

The Colton football team will see the inside of buses a lot in 2008.

The Yellowjackets' scrimmage and first four non-league games are all on the road.

Colton scrimmages at Calabasas, followed by roadies at Vista Murrieta, Palm Desert, La Quinta and Silverado.

The Yellowjackets' first home game is Week 5 against Kaiser.

"We'll be traveling from the Low Desert, to the High Desert, to the sea," Colton coach Harold Strauss mused.

Strauss said Colton had difficulty scheduling games, he surmised because so many teams don't want to get beat up by Colton's meat-grinder, double-wing offense.

Upland quarterback Josh Nunes received a scholarship offer this morning from Stanford, rivals.com has reported.

The 6-4, 205-pound junior also has offers from Colorado, Arizona and Hawaii.

Nunes threw for 2,105 yards and 14 touchdowns, with five interceptions last year. He completed 57.4 percent of his passes in earning Co-Offensive Player of the Year of the Baseline League.

UCLA, Cal, Oregon State and Notre Dame have also expressed interest in Nunes, the Web site said.

Cajon junior center Darshae Burnside ranks 16th in the nation in rebounding with 16.3 per game, according to maxpreps.com.

Burnside and junior guard Layshia Clarendon will lead Cajon into CIF-SS action on Saturday night against Perris in a much-awaited showdown.

Re-tooling the school's athletic Hall of Fame in the image of San Gorgonio's, Riverside Ramona athletic director John Tibbels is preparing for this year's March 17 banquet, Tibbels told the Prep-dog this morning.

Although the HOF banquet will be on St. Patrick's Day, there "will be no green beer," Tibbels said.

The school will induct Sheria Moses (track), Bill Thompson (football, basketball), Phil Rhyne (basketball), Bill Vaughn (former principal) and Bob Porter (former baseball coach). It will also be refurbishing the plaques and honoring already inducted members John Masi (basketball), Tony Adams (football) and Paco Craig (football).

Both Adams and Craig played pro football and Masi coached the UC-Riverside men's basketball team for 26 years.

"Ramona is 50 years old and when I got here there were 17 people in the Hall of Fame and nobody had been inducted since 1983," Tibbels said.

Tibbels, the former San Gorgonio assistant boys basketball coach, seems to be making up for lost time.

Those interested in attending the March 17 banquet may contact Tibbels at (951) 352-8429, ext. 65248 or jtibbels@rusd.k12.ca.us.

Tibbels said 220 attended last year's banquet.

-By John Murphy
berdooman@aol.com

Bob Burt has taken the job as football coach at Riverside Notre Dame, Notre Dame principal Jodine Salley told the Prep-dog this morning.

"He's been offered it and has accepted it," Salley said. "Now we're just waiting for the paper work to be cleared up - the finger printing and other routine stuff."

Once the paper work is completed, Burt will officially be the coach, Salley said. It is normal for prospective coaches and teachers to be finger printed and have their backgrounds checked, Salley indicated.

Burt is formerly the football coach and athletic director at Temescal Canyon High School. He began coaching at Garden Grove Santiago in 1969. He also coached at Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge, before becoming the Temescal Canyon coach in 1995. His '95 team won the CIF-SS title.

During his stint as coach of the Titans, Temescal Canyon went 57-35-2, including a 10-5 record in the playoffs. After stepping down as the Titans football coach in 2002, he continued as the athletic director until retiring.

Notre Dame went 8-5 last season, including a 2-2 record in the Mountain Pass League.

- By John Murphy
berdooman@aol.com

Prep-dog took his act north on Wednesday to Phelan, which was something akin to Lambeau Field's frozen tundra for the soccer match between host Serrano and Kaiser. We had the rain, hail and snow, the only thing missing was Brett Favre flinging touchdown passes.

Serrano coach Dave Molina said it was the worst weather his team has ever played in. The Kaiser subs, who took refuge in the Diamondback baseball dugout behind the soccer field, seemed to agree. Those poor girls, most of whom didn't play at all, were shivering in wet blankets for most of the second half.

Prep-dog figured the covered dugout was the perfect place to keep relatively dry and still watch the game. But the hail was coming down sideways and when I peered out the slit at the top of the dugout, the frozen rain was hitting me square in the face. I need to remind Serrano athletic director Gary Weiberg to erect a pressbox at the soccer field before my next visit ... which won't be real soon, come to think of it.

Anyway, as I mentioned on my blog this afternoon, Serrano's Kauren Tarver verbally committed to Arizona State for cross country and planned to sign with the Sun Devils this evening. She also scored two of Serrano's goals against Kaiser in a 3-0 win.

The funny thing about today at Serrano, was the Diamondback baseball and softball teams were actually practicing on nearby fields when the soccer match started. But that didn't last long once the rain turned to ice.

Drenched from head to toe from my trip to Phelan, the dog needed to get dry before covering Don Lugo at Silverado girls basketball later that night. So I bought some sweats for $5 at the Goodwill in Victorville. The new togs and my car heater had me relatively comfortable by the time the Hawks and Conquistadores tipped off. It wasn't a close game (Silverado won by 20), but at least it was dry.

- John Murphy
berdooman@aol.com

Today is a big day for Serrano star athlete Kauren Tarver.

Five minutes into today's CIF-SS soccer playoff match with visiting Kaiser, Tarver scored the match's first goal with a beautiful left-footed rocket into the corner of the net.

"She's the best girls' soccer player I've ever seen," Serrano assistant princiapal Burt Umstead told the Prep-dog.

It gets even better. Tarver's father, Gary, told the dog that Kauren - mainly known as a star runner - has verbally committed to Arizona State University and will sign her scholarship tonight.

"She likes the coaches and the atmosphere there," Gary Tarver said.

It's raining here in Phelan and it's about 30 degrees, but it's pretty sunny in Kauren Tarver's world.

Tuesday afternoon took the Prep-dog to Arroyo Valley for the Hawks' soccer playoff match against La Puente, a 2-1 Hawk loss.

The Hawk team put forth a respectable effort, but the Arroyo Valley turf has been taking a beating from opposing CIF-SS coaches.

La Puente coach Bahram Alavi told the dog the condition of the field was "deplorable and horrendous." I couldn't argue.

Then there was Granite Hills coach Paul Casarez, who had this to say to the Victor Valley Daily Press following his team's loss to host Arroyo Valley.

“The field conditions were about the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said. “We had to play the ball in the air and that’s not our style of play.”

The school district needs to do something about this field, which is just a notch or two above an empty lot. It's an embarrassment.

Prep-dog's travels took him to Aquinas on Tuesday night for the Falcons' quarterfinal CIF-SS game with Patriot.

Patriot won 69-54, but it was hard not to be impressed with the fighting spirit of the Falcons (23-4) and the support of their vociferous fans.

It was the first loss in 15 games for Aquinas, which Falcon athletic director Chris Ybarra reminded the Prep-dog of, inferring it was my fault for showing up. He was kidding. I think.

The Falcons trailed by 22 points with 6:07 left in the game and rallied to within nine points in less than two minutes, with a chance to move closer. But it wasn't to be for coach Dave Johnson's team, as Patriot righted itself and pulled away.

Still, the dog came away impressed with key Falcons like Cory Hollamon, James Albert, Jordan Williams, Courtland Wharton, Tyler Stirewalt and David Aguirre.

Hollamon (22 points) didn't have his best game, but scored 13 in the fourth quarter to lead the Falcon charge. Hollamon's is quick and agile and looks like a kid who could have started for any team in the San Andreas League.

Though Hollamon graduates this year, four starters return in 2008-2009.

"We'll have a good core of players back," Johnson said.

Kudos also to the Falcons for the commemorative patches they wore on their warm-ups, honoring the 1973 Aquinas CIF champs. That is such a cool idea, and not something the dog has ever seen on the prep level.

Eisenhower (26-3) is still ranked 20th in the state by calhisports.com after two CIF-SS victories. The Eagles now brace for an intra-county showdown Friday with Cajon at a site to be determined by a coin flip.

Eisenhower was the Citrus Belt League champ and Cajon the San Andreas League co-champ and No. 1 seed from the league into the playoffs.

Mater Dei (28-0) is still ranked No. 1 in the state after San Jose Archbishop Mitty (26-1) slipped to No. 2 last month after season-ending injuries to two starters, including UCLA-bound Drew Gordon.

Etiwanda (28-1) remains at 13th after CIF-SS opening wins over Diamond Bar and Foothill.

San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (26-0) remains as the No. 1 girls' basketball team in the state, as chosen by calhisports.com. The Irish shouldn't be challenged until perhaps the state title game.

Miller (23-2) remains at No. 8 after a blowout CIF-SS win over La Canada. Senior guard Lola Wells, who visited UCLA earlier this season, led the Rebels with 19 points. The Rebels play host Rancho Cucamonga tonight in the Division II-AA playoffs.

Cajon (25-3) is still 12th, with a big semifinal showdown against Perris (No. 18, 24-4) looming Saturday, assuming Cajon gets by host Keppel tonight. Junior Darshae Burnside scored a combined 37 points and took 43 rebounds in Cajon's two wins last week.

Prep-dog's colleague, Paul Oberjuerge, has done a lengthy blog entry on the late-season misfortune of the Redlands boys basketball team. It can be read on sbsun.com ... Paul's blog is named "In this Corner." Here are the first several paragraphs ...

That was a basketball season you don't often see.

"Everybody is in shock. People have come by and said 'You've got nothing to be ashamed of, 24-3 is a great season.' But the kids feel like they didn't accomplish some things. We took a right and a left and then one more (punch), and then it was over."

(Read the remainder on PaulO's blog on this Web site).

Los Osos junior football quarterback Richard Brehaut is attracting increased attention, with UCLA, Northwestern, Boise State, Maryland, Cal, Louisville, Florida, Colorado and Stanford being the most interested, Brehaut told scout.com.

The 6-2, 205-pounder told the Web site he is most interested in Stanford, Northwestern, UCLA and Cal.

Brehaut passed for 2,348 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, with eight interceptions. He also ran for 528 yards and five scores.

Also getting some looks is Corona Santiago tight end Marlion Barnett (6-3, 205). And, yes, his first name is Marlion.

Barnett told scout.com Oklahoma, Cal, Washington, Oregon State and UCLA have shown interest. Oklahoma has invited Barnett to its camp.

Barnett told the Web site he is most interested in UCLA.

As a junior Barnett had 30 receptions for 400 yards and two scores in leading the Sharks to the CIF-SS finals.

Norco High School graduate Josh Romanski (University of San Diego) has made the rivals.com pre-season All-America second team.

The 6-0, 185-pound junior utility player went 9-1 on the mound last season with a 3.05 earned run average, striking out 92 and walking 24 in 112 innings. He also hit .335 with three home runs and 30 runs batted in, with a .402 on-base percentage.