Parents and student athletes wanting to learn more about the college recruiting process can do so at a free lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the auditorium at Montclair High School (4725 Benito St.) .
It is open to those from all sports from all schools.
The guest lecturer will be Jack Renkens who has coached at all levels, served as an athletic director and had children go through the process. He founded Recruiting Realities and tour the country speaking on the topic
It’s hard enough trying to jump start a struggling football program. It’s even tougher when you’re competing in the Baseline League.
That’s the tough task ahead of new coach Alex Pierce who moved to the school this year after an impressive run slightly East at Carter High School.
The Grizzlies were just 1-9 last year and have won just seven games in the last three years. The last winning season was a 6-4 showing in 2011.
Neighborhood rival Rancho Cucamonga is the juggernaut right now. Upland’s young team has matured and looks poised for a breakout season and Etiwanda, the other city school, always gets good athletes. Chino Hills, Damien, yes you get the picture. It has been a tough go for the Grizzlies.
Pierce is ready for the challenge though. His goal is to get the students who should be at his school to come to the school, rather then skip to one of the rivals or yet another school.
“This is a great academic school with a lot of other things to offer too. If the football program was a little better it would go a long way toward keeping those kids here,” he said. “I hate to use a college example, but there is Stanford. That’s a great example of school with academics that is also competitive. It can be done. It won’t be easy and no we have to do some things different.”
Pierce will serve as offensive coordinator as well with Tommy Martinez, now the school’s athletic director but the head football coach the last time the team had a winning season, stepping in to serve as defensive coordinator.
Pierce does have a solid quarterback returning in senior Brett Cabral, who threw for 1,409 yards in nine games. The key will be having enough weapons around Cabral to make the offense more formidable. The new coach is also high on junior wide receiver Andrew Walker and running back Kyle Jorgenson, who will also be an impact player at linebacker.
The line will be led by seniors Brandon Funke and Brandon Trejo.
Demsive standouts include senior linebacker Connor Helsius, senior nose tackle Matthew Williams, senior lineman Tahi Fakava and senior linebacker Isaiah Peck.
Right now Pierce has 100 players between the varsity and junior varsity teams and another 50 working the with freshman team.
“We’re going to play hard and try and outwork everyone else on both sides of the ball,” Pierce said. “We’re going to find a way and that way won’t be the same as everyone else’s way.”
Los Osos makes its debut on Aug. 25 against, of all teams, Carter – the team Carter just left. The schedule was made long before Pierce interviewed for the job and he admits walking the visitor’s sideline at that school will be difficult.
“It will be a little awkward, no doubt,” he said.
LOS OSOS SCHEDULE
Aug. 25 – At Carter
Sept. 1 – Northwood
Sept. 8 – At Alta Loma
Sept. 15 – Chino
Sept. 29 – At Silverado
Oct. 6 – At Etiwanda
Oct. 13 – Rancho Cucamonga
Oct. 20 – Damien
Oct. 27 – At Chino Hills
Nov. 3 – Upland
Justin Randall considers himself pretty fortunate. He just landed his first “head” coaching gig and he is in a place where the cupboard is hardly empty – Carter.
Preparations for the season are underway and Randall, son of Colony Head Coach Steve Randall, has a hard time containing his enthusiasm.
“We have really good kids here,” he said, “I stepped into a good situation. I just want to keep the ball rolling.”
Previous coach Alex Pierce moved over to Los Osos and Randall was chosen as his successor. He spent last year at Citrus College. Before that he spent four years working for his father at Colony. He also had a year at Ontario as an assistant coach.
Despite being one of the younger head coaches in the area at 26, he says he considers himself an “old-school” coach from having hung around his father and his coaching contemporaries.
“I have been around the game my while life,” he said. “I can’t imagine not being part of it.”
Randall will be the team’s defensive coordinator while Steve Johnston, who had been with Randall’s dad at Colony, will be offensive coordinator.
Last year the Lions went 5-5 in the regular season with a 3-4 mark in the tough Citrus Belt League. Randall will have several key players returning. He is most high on senior safety-wide receiver Justice Hamilton whom he says has the potential to be one of the top players in the Inland Empire.
Many of the Lions top players will be asked to contribute one both sides of the ball. Among the others are senior linebacker-running back Lemusu Toailoa, last in the line of talented football-playing brothers, senior lineman Daimon Ross and senior receiver-corner Keion Guyton.
Randall likes the combination he will have at running back in Toailoa and D.J. Thomas and thinks the strongest part of the defense will be the secondary.
The biggest question mark will be at quarterback where senior Wayne Schuster, junior Eddie Torres and sophomore Serbando Lopez are battling for the starting job.
The Lions won;t have to wait long for an interesting storyline as they open the season against Los Osos, headed by their former coach. Stay tuned.
CARTER SCHEDULE
Aug. 25 – Los Osos
Sept. 1 – At Rancho Verde
Sept. 8 – San Jacinto
Sept. 22 – At Miller
Sept. 29 – Redlands
Oct. 6 – Redlands East Valley (At Citrus Valley)
Oct. 13 – Yucaipa
Oct. 20 – At Citrus Valley
Oct. 27 – At Cajon
Nov. 3 – Eisenhower
As the prep football season fast approaches, I thought it might be good to take a look at some of the players sure to do great things the coming season. One of those is senior wide receiver Geordon Porter of Etiwanda.
Porter currently has 15 offers and has narrowed his list to seven schools. He has planned visits to Utah (Sept. 2), Notre Dame (Sept. 9) and Arizona State (Sept. 16). Four other schools – Alabama, Cal, Colorado and UCLA – are still in play.
He had quite the smorgasbord to chose from. Others offering included Purdue, UNLV, Washington State, Hawaii, Georgia, San Jose State, Colorado State, UNLV and Duke.
The 6-foot-2, 172-pounder had a decent season as a junior with 33 catches for 512 yards and five touchdowns. He came up big in a 45-42 win the last game of the regular season against Damien which got his team into the playoffs.
Etiwanda coach Kevin Davis said interest in his speedster picked up in the spring after he ran 10.6 in the 100 during a spring track meet. A couple of offers quickly turned into more than a dozen.
“He was on the radar before that,” Davis said “But when schools saw that the interest really did pick up in a big way. He is really ready to have a huge season,.”
Porter’s potential is not surprising given his genes. Father George was a track standout at USC. Older brother Grant, who graduated from Upland in 2016, red-shirted last year at Washington State and is looking to be a factor for the Cougars this year at defensive back.
Porter says he learned a lot from watching his brother go through the recruiting process.
“It can be a lot of fun but at times it is stressful too,” he said. “You have to find the school that is the right fit and there are lot of things to consider – what offense it runs, how soon you thing you can play, what school fits you best academically.”
Davis said while Porter’s biggest contributions will come on offense, he night also be used on defense as well as on special teams.
“He makes things happen so we definitely have to get the ball in his hands,” Davis said.
Porter and the Eagles make their debut on Aug. 25 against Summit in their annual rivalry game at Miller high School.
Offensive Player of Year: Branden Rankins, Jr., Aquinas
Defensive Player of Year: Dylan Petti, Sr., Notre Dame
Co-Coaches of Year: Jordan Brusig, Aquinas; Matt Hoesktra, Ontario Chr.
Sportsmanship Award: Western Christian
First team offense
OL: Ben Coleman, Soph., Linfield Christian
OL: Dylan Petti, Sr., Notre Dame
OL: Stewart Van Dam, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
OL: Zyon Mathis, Soph., Aquinas
OL: Brad Whitworth, Soph., Linfield Christian
QB: Niles Harrell, Sr., Notre Dame
RB: Ian Zamudio, St., Notre Dame
RB: Branden Rankins, Jr., Aquinas
WR: Savai’l Cravens, Sr., Linfield Christian
WR: Jared Baytosh, Jr., Notre Dame
UT: Joshka Gustav, Jr., Aquinas
K: Salieu Ceesay, Jr., Aquinas
First team defense
DL: Clayton Dahl, Sr., Ontario Christian
DL: Dylan Petti, Sr., Notre Dame
DL: Joshka Gustav, Jr., Aquinas
DL: Ben Coleman, Soph., Linfield Christian
LB: William Barbato,Sr., Linfield Christian
LB: Anthony Solis,Jr., Notre Dame
LB: Sean Yost, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
DB: Simeon Burns, Sr., Linfield Christian
DB: Nick Manuel, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
DB: Nick Baytosh, Sr., Notre Dame
DB: Savai’l Cravens, Sr., Linfield Christian
P: Brad Slayman, Jr., Arrowhead Christian
Second team offense
OL: Nathan Abelon, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
OL: Jasper Frils, Jr., Aquinas
OL: Zeke Zaragoza, Jr., Ontario Christian
OL: Henry Mitchell, Sr., Notre Dame
OL: Ethan Wattler, Jr., Notre Dame
QB: Kevin Jack, Jr., Ontario Christian
RB: John Henry, Sr., Linfield Christian
RB: Blake Biby, Sr., Ontario Christian
WR: DJ Botello, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
WR: Ian Ulloa, Sr., Ontario Christian
UT: Simeon Burns, Sr., Linfield Christian
Second team defense
DL: Joey Benson, Jr., Ontario Christian
DL: Stewart Van Dam, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
DL: Travion Brown, Soph., Linfield Christian
DL: Michael Hotetz, Soph., Aquinas
LB: Ruben Fabian, Jr., Aquinas
LB: Ryan Simpson, Sr., Notre Dame
LB: Andrew Kelstrom, Soph., Aquinas
DB: Ian Zamudio, Sr., Notre Dame
DB: John Henry, Sr., Linfield Christian
DB: Carson Kidd, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
DB: DJ Botello, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
Player of Year: Tesa Oaks, Sr., Woodcrest Christian
Coach of Year: Teri James, Woodcrest, Gina Smith, Notre Dame
Sportsmanship Award: Ontario Christian
First team
Tia Charina, Soph., Aquinas
Katie Greer, Soph., Woodcrest Christian
Morgan Hall, Jr., Loma Linda Academy
Bre Hood, Sr., Woodcrest Christian
Annaka Jorgenson, Soph., Ontario Christian
Ali Lewis, Sr., Western Christian
Nicole Qui, Jr., Notre Dame
Ashlynn Ritter, Sr., Ontario Christian
Braelynn Wakefield, Jr., Linfield Christian
Demari Webb, Jr., Loma Linda Academy
Emily White, Jr., Woodcrest Christian
Kristen Williams, Sr., Notre Dame
Trinity Wyscarver, Jr., Notre Dame
Second team
Raimi Albee, Soph., Woodcrest Christian
Selena Balderas, Fr., Ontario Christian
Rachel Enriquez, Sr., Ontario Christian
Gabby Gobaton, Jr., Aquinas
Natalie Grover, Jr., Woodcrest Christian
Hannah McKee, Jr., Loma Linda Academy
Kailee Rohmer, Jr., Loma Linda Academy
Devin Siverston, Fr., Linfield Christian
Jasmin Suarez, Jr., Notre Dame
Hannah Thalmayer, Sr., Arrowhead Christian
Third baseman Isabel Rocco of Jurupa Hills and shortstop Julia Jimenez of Etiwanda have been named to the MaxPreps Freshman All-American softball team.
Rocco hit .586 with 11 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 56 RBIs and 42 runs scored in 28 games for the Spartans (20-8).
Jimenez, who has committed to University of Michigan, batted .427 with 11 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 47 RBIs and 36 runs scored for the Eagles (29-3), who were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country.
Here is the link to the complete list of MaxPreps selections.
Junior infielder of Marcos Castanon of Carter High School has committed to UC Riverside.
Castanon was named most valuable player in the Citrus Belt League this season, helping the Lions (21-7) to a share of the league title. He batted .416 with 19 runs scored, 20 RBI, 14 doubles 2 triples and a home run.
That was the only offer he had but felt good enough about the school he didn’t want to wait to see what else might come along in the coming school year.
“If that really feels like the right place to be why wait for something else?” he said. “I like what they are building there and there are a lot of Inland Empire guys there. I love the school and the program.”
Castanon said the fact that former major league pitcher Troy Percival, himself an Inland Empire product, is heading the program was a definite factor. But he also singled out assistant Bryson LeBlanc who had been recruiting him since his freshman year.
“It isn’t just Percival, I really like the whole coaching staff,” he said.
Percival took over the program in late July of 2014. The Highlanders were 15-40 overall and 4-20 in Big West play in his first year, although he got the job late and had little chance to recruit.
UCR made great strides last season, finishing 26-29 overall and 12-12 in conference.
“I am looking forward to being part of program that is really building for the future,” he said.
Castanon plans to major in kinesiology.
MVP: Marcos Castanon, Jr., SS, Carter
First team
Jacob Barnes, Sr., Yucaipa
Peter Brooks, Sr., Redlands
Ryan Bunse, Sr., Cajon
Michael Carpentier, Fr., Citrus Valley
Juan Castro, Sr., Miller
Isaiah Davis, Sr., Carter
Roger Fair, Jr., Carter
Gabriel Gordillo, Sr., Cajon
Justin Guizar, Sr., Redlands
Joseph Lomeli, Fr., Yucaipa
Eduardo Martinez, Sr., Carter
Tyler Van Marter, Sr., Yucaipa
Andrew Miner, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Paul Rojas, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Ryan Silva, Jr., Redlands East Valley
Anthony Villegas, Jr., Carter
Tristan Workman, Jr., Citrus Valley
Second team
Aaron Andreas, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Mason Corneliussen, Sr., Cajon
Brody Evans, Jr., Cajon
Koby Glass, Sr., Redlands
Mario Gonzalez, Jr., Miller
Isaac Humildad, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Tristen Macias, Sr., Yucaipa
Miguel Martin, Sr., Eisenhower
Fabian Muniz, Sr., Miller
Gabriel Olvera, Sr., Eisenhower
Nikolas Pagan, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Devin Oerez, Sr., Yucaipa
Joseph Rodriguez, Jr., Redlands East Valley
Chris Ruiz, Sr., Redlands
Cody Stevens, Jr., Yucaipa
Austin Warner, Jr., Citrus Valley
Justin Wear, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Most Valuable Player: Jaymi Steward, Jr., Redlands
Most Outstanding Player: Eve Harvey, Soph., Redlands East Valley
First team
Kaitlyn Alvarado, Jr., Yucaipa
Pamela Baber, Sr., Carter
Valeria Castillo, Soph., Carter
Jocelyn Chavez, Sr., Eisenhower
Keely Clark, Soph., Yucaipa
Mackenzee Clements, Jr., Redlands
Megan Martin, Jr., Yucaipa
Kelly Martinez, Sr., Yucaipa
Miranda Nunez, Soph., Carter
Maxine Ortega, Jr., Citrus Valley
Jada Overby, Jr., Redlands
Riley Plogger, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Zoe Richard, Sr., Citrus Valley
Julia Salomon, Soph., Redlands East Valley
Abby San Pedro, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Gabby Ursuy, Jr., Eisenhower
Allysia Victorino, Jr., Cajon
Morgan Zamora, Soph., Cajon
Second team
Catherine Carrillo, Fr., Redlands
Ivy Castorena, Soph., Miller
Rayleen Castro, Jr., Redlands
Evangelyn Davila, Fr., Miller
Jillian Figueroa, Fr., Carter
Eileen Hernandez, Sr., Citrus Valley
Brittany Krey, Jr., Cajon
Jamie Leon, Jr., Citrus Valley
Monroe Ojendyke-Mella, Fr., Yucaipa
Brittney Olsen-Graham, Soph., Miller
Olivia Olvera, Sr., Citrus Valley
Cynthia Rios, Soph., Cajon
Alicia Rivera, Jr., Carter
Seriena Rodriguez, Jr., Eisenhower
Stephanie Ruelas, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Brittney Villalobos, Fr., Miller
Honorable mention: Haylee Anderson, Sr., Redlands; Veronica Brundage, Jr., Cajon; Madison Ferrao, Fr., Redlands East Valley; Alyssa Guitron, Soph., Cajon; Sydnee Huff, Fr., Yucaipa; Madyson Marvulli, Jr., Yucaipa; Helena Ramirez, Jr., Eisenhower; Chandler Tillman, Jr., Citrus Valley.