Ike starting over…again

The process of restoring Eisenhower High School to its status of Inland Empire football power has been an ongoing one, dating to the early parts of this decade. The Eagles haven’t been to the playoffs since 2004 and quite frankly, it would be an upset if Eisenhower got close to making it back to the postseason this year with another new coach at the helm.

Gone is John Rice, who resigned after the Eagles went 5-5 for the second straight year. In his place steps Patrick Lord, who played for Eisenhower in the mid-1990s and moves over from Jurupa Valley High School, where he was an offensive line coach.
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Silverado a glutton for punishment

The breakdown of Silverado’s 2008 season was unique to say the least. An 0-6 start with a brutal nonleague schedule turned into a 3-7 Desert Sky League co-championship regular season, which subsequently turned into a run into the Eastern Division semifinals.

As 5-8 seasons go, the one the Hawks had was pretty darn good. And with another extremely difficult nonleague slate featuring the likes of Gardena Serra, Silverado, Quartz Hill, Palm Desert and Summit in the works, don’t be surprised if Silverado has another seemingly slow start followed by another bang-up finish.
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Granite Hills looks for culture upheaval

Ten seasons of four wins or less is something reminiscent of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers circa the bright orange uniforms. Ever since Granite Hills High School opened in 1999, the Cougars have had a hard time stringing together any success whatsoever, as losing has invaded the program at every level.

“It’s not just the players who had the low expectations, it is the fans as well,” Granite Hills coach Justin Price said. “It had gotten to the point where everyone just wanted us to be competitive and weren’t necessarily concerned about winning. However, we aren’t going to settle for that – it’s time to win some games.”
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REV as solid as ever

If there’s one thing that you can say about the Redlands East Valley football team, its that it’s consistent. Since Kurt Bruich fully implemented his program earlier this decade, the Wildcats have been near or at the top of the Citrus Belt League and a constant contender for the Inland Division championship.

This year isn’t any different at REV. After losing three games in the past two seasons, grabbing a CBL title in 2007 and finishing behind Miller last season, the Wildcats are expected to be among the elite teams in the Inland Empire again in 2009. Esteemed colleague J.P. Hoornstra assisted in the compliation of the below info.
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Arroyo Valley embraces recent past

The 2007 season was a pretty darn good one for Arroyo Valley High School. The Hawks, led by smooth quarterback Robert Fuller and a bevy of quick, talented receivers, passed their way to a 7-3-1 record and advanced to the second round of the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs.

After a 4-6 hiccup with a young team a year ago, second-year Hawks coach Marcus Soward sees a lot of parallels between his 2009 squad and the team that was setting school records left and right two years before. And he’s pretty sure that the end result will be just as good, if not better, than what the 2007 Hawks authored.
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Cajon looking for proper balance

The 2008 season was the best season that the Cajon High School football team had in two decades. An undefeated San Andreas League championship, an 11-2 overall record and advancing to the Central Division semifinals between a talented cast that featured UCLA-bound cornerback Marlon Pollard and two-time all-Sun Player of the Year Walter Kazee made for some lasting memories.

But those are memories that Cowboys coach Kim Battin hopes that his team forgets. While 2008 was a great memory, Battin wants to nip any sense of entitlement that could come from that success in the bud.
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New era at San Gorgonio

Ron Gueringer has seen quite a bit of success during his last six years as an assistant at Corona Centennial, helping the Huskies win two consecutive CIF-SS Inland Division championships and a large-school state championship in 2008. He now brings that winning aura to San Gorgonio High School, replacing Randy Stevens.

Gueringer, who was the head coach at Centennial, Moreno Valley Valley View and Encino Crespi from 1995-2002 before rejoining the Huskies as an assistant coach in 2003, is happy to be a head coach again.
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Pacific looking to take the next step

On the surface, Pacific High School’s 24-19 victory over San Bernardino Oct. 24 doesn’t look to be a big deal, as one struggling high school program defeated another. However, that victory was huge for the Pirates, as it broke a 26-game losing streak that dated back to 2005 and gave some legitimacy to first-year coach Oscar Torres’ program.

As Pacific prepares for 2009, Torres is well aware of how important the victory over the Cardinals was to the landscape of his program.
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Cardinals ready to turn the page

These previews will be sporadic – pretty much done right after I talk to the coaches. Just got off the phone with San Bernardino football coach Nick Monica, who took time out of a lovely Thursday evening at the Cheesecake Factory to talk shop. Hopefully his wife wasn’t too annoyed.

Anyway, the Cardinals, after a pretty solid 4-5 record in Monica’s first season in 2007, slipped a bit in 2008, registering a 2-8 record which saw them lose to Pacific, giving the Pirates their first victory since 2005. Needless to say, the San Berdoo brass are happy about putting 2008 in the rearview mirror.
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Colton ready to rumble

First of all, I apologize for the extended break between posts. Between vacations and the general slow nature of the summer, I haven’t been on here in a while. But with football season coming up, I plan to make up for that a bit with some team previews.

I’ll first start off with Colton because, quite frankly, Harold Strauss was the first coach I was able to get in contact with today. Strauss, as you guys probably know by now, will be coaching his final season with the Yellowjackets, as he has been named to replace David Drake as Colton’s athletic director.
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