Prater commits to Oregon

Etiwanda offensive lineman Jamal Prater, a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, has verbally committed to the University of Oregon according to an article by Duck Sports Authority. Prater, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive tackle, gave the pledge after an unofficial visit to Eugene on Wednesday according to this article, which is available with a Rivals.com subscription.

Prater is the latest in a recent line of local prospects to commit/sign with the Ducks, who signed Los Osos DE Tony Washington, Colton S Derrick Malone and Colton K Alejandro Maldonado in February. Prater chose Oregon over offers from Oregon State, Washington State, San Diego State and San Jose State.

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Experienced Cajon looking to shine

As Cajon coach Kim Battin thinks about his team’s potential entering this season, he has flashbacks to 2008. Two years ago, the Cowboys went 11-2 with an experienced, veteran team en route to a San Andreas League championship and a run into the Central Division quarterfinals. Battin isn’t quite predicting that, but he is feeling good about Cajon’s chances this year.

“The expecations are very high. We have a group of seniors that learned from the seniors that made the run two years ago and that were a big part of a team that went 7-3 and made the playoffs last year,” Battin said. “There is a lot of experience and motivation here and we are ready to go out there and see what we can do.”

A lot of Battin’s confidence comes from a loaded offense led by senior quarterback Thomas Carter. Carter (6-0, 185) has started since early in his sophomore season, as he was the triggerman on the Cowboys’ semifinal team two years ago. He brings a potent dual-threat element to the Cowboys’ spread offense, allowing the Cowboys to throw in several different wrinkles.

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Bloomington looks to take the next step

It was a tumultuous offseason for Bloomington head coach Tom Conner, who suffered a heart attack in March while playing pickup basketball. The 35-year old Conner has spent the offseason recovering and changing his diet and is feeling a lot better as he embarks on his third season in charge of the Bruins.

“Life is great right now,” Conner said. “The doctor has cleared me to resume working out and physical activities and I’ve been working real hard to stay healthy. I’m just excited to be back out there and get this season going.”

Along with his improving health, Conner is getting excitement from a Bruins team that returns 10 starters and several other contributors from last year’s team. After painful 2-8 and 3-7 seasons in adjusting from Don Markham’s double-wing offense and 30-man roster to a spread offense and a roster that is roughly 20 players bigger, Conner thinks that this year will be the one where Bloomington makes a leap.
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Silverado slowing its roll a bit

If you blinked last year, you probably missed a Silverado scoring drive. With explosive dual-threat quarterback Jemeryn Jenkins throwing to big-play wide receiver Fred Rosser to go along with the shifty running of running back Ayele Forde, the Hawks put up points in a rapid-fire fashion. But with the above three players having graduated, Silverado coach Carl Posey is looking to slow his team’s pace a bit.

“It seemed like no matter what we did, we were off the field in two minutes,” Posey said. “We’d either break a long touchdown with those guys or we’d go three and out and punt. Either way, our defense was on the field a lot. We did pretty well defensively but we lost almost everyone from that side of the ball last year and I don’t want to put that much on that.”

Protecting a defense that has lost a bulk of its starters isn’t the only reason for Silverado’s change in approach. Quite frankly, losing the combined skill of Jenkins, Rosser and Forde is almost impossible to replace and the players set to do that bring different things to the table.
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Twentynine Palms looking for four-peat

Twentynine Palms has established itself as the gold standard in the De Anza League over the last three years, winning league titles all three seasons and progressing to the East Valley Division championship game in 2008. But in the midst of all this success, it’s the last failure that weighs on Wildcat coach Ernie Martinez’s mind.

“Our playoff loss last year was heartbreaking,” Martinez said. “Losing on a Hail Mary pass to the team (Ontario Christian) that lost 12-10 in the championship game is a tough way to go out. I thought we had a really good team last year and we were close to doing something big.”

Whether or not the Wildcats will do something big this year depends on how they reload. Twentynine Palms saw both of its all-CIF linebackers – Robert Caldwell and Austin Cole – graduate, along with starting QB Aaron Anderson. The Wildcats also got a tough break when running back Michael Pinto, who contributed over 800 yards of total offense and scored six touchdowns as a sophomore, moved away.
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Barstow in rebuilding mode

After a hiatus for vacations and things of the like over the past few weeks, we are getting back to business on the blog with team-by-team high school previews. Over the next month, we’ll be showcasing every county school east of the 15 and south of Barstow, where we’ll start off today.

The first two years of the Jose Rubio era in Barstow have been fruitful, as the Aztecs have a combined 17-8 record and made a run to the Eastern Division championship game in 2008. But the bulk of the contributors from the last two years have moved on, as 27 seniors depart from last year’s 7-4 team.

“I guess you could say we are rebuilding,” Rubio said. “On offense we return our quarterback and center basically, while on defense we lost our linebackers and defensive tackles. We’ll be young but we are excited to see what some of these guys can do.”
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