Inland Empire Classic Football rosters are out

2016 INLAND EMPIRE ALL-STAR FOOTBALL CLASSIC

These are the preliminary rosters for the game, which will be Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Ramona High in Riverside. The players listed have committed, but college visits, injuries and other issues may create the need for late additions

San Bernardino County Roster
Head Coach: Nick Rogers, Cajon.
Assistant Coaches: Javon Daniels, Cajon; Gerald Gomez, Cajon; Kendrick Harris, Cajon; Brad Johnson, Cajon; Jeff Imbriani, San Bernardino; Eric Valencia, Cajon; Rich Imbriani, Cajon; Jerome Webber, Cajon; John Beck, Arrowhead Christian; Kenny Grant, Arrowhead Christian; Will Pomfret, Redlands.

OFFENSE
Quarterbacks: Joey Burrola, Redlands; Marcus Johnson, Indian Springs.
Running Backs: Alex Mattison, San Bernardino; Devon Dixon, Grand Terrace; Joey Harmon, Redlands East Valley; Spencer Coleman, Carter; Sultaan Sullivan, Serrano.
Wide Receivers: CJ Harris, Redlands East Valley; Tyrone Gasaway, Cajon; Ramean Duckett, San Gorgonio; Brandon Morris, Redlands; Matt Thompson, Arrowhead Christian Academy.
Offensive linemen: Brandyn Alvarez, Grand Terrace; Gerardo Flores, Cajon; James Hanson, Kaiser; Niko Hernandez, Aquinas.

DEFENSE
Defensive line: Erick Garcia, Cajon; Mikael Bunse, Cajon; Shemiah Unutoa, San Gorgonio; Ray Arreola, Yucaipa; Shynol McClain, Redlands East Valley.
Linebackers: Cameron Moore, Cajon; Zach Torres, Grand Terrace; Matteo Biscotti, Redlands East Valley; Matt Lee, Yucaipa; Niklas Gustav, Aquinas.
Defensive backs: Elijah Lilly, Cajon; Dorian Fredrick, Redlands; Marcus Strong, Carter; Marquise Green, Carter.
Punter/Kicker: Jaron Imbriani, Cajon.

Riverside County Roster
Head Coach: Jeff Steinberg, Rancho Verde, Offensive Coordinator.
Assistant Coaches: Defensive coordinator, Outside linebackers, Jeff Huerta, Rancho Verde; Running backs, H Banks, Rancho Verde; Inside linebackers, J. Reeder, Rancho Verde; Wide receivers, B. Robinson, Rancho Verde, L. Anderson, Rancho Verde, M. Cao, Rancho Verde; C. Defensive line, Jefferson, Rancho Verde, C. Hammond, Rancho Verde; Offensive line, Rene Cronkite, Santiago; P. Morris, Rancho Verde; Cornerbacks, A. Poor, Rancho Verde, Derrick Johnson, Notre Dame; Safeties, J. Pfeiffer, Rancho Verde, L. Pickens, Rancho Verde.

OFFENSE
Quarterbacks: Anthony Catalano, Centennial; Brett Virgil, Heritage.
Running Backs: JJ Taylor, Centennial; Jamal Scott, Rancho Verde; Freddie Holly, Norte Vista; Devin Floyd, Citrus Hil.
Wide Receivers: Dixon Stith, Riverside Poly; Alive Hifo, Heritage; Sean Bowden, Roosevelt; Cameron Jackson, Centennial; Tyler Krepsz, King; Lloyd Hightower, Chaparral.
Offensive linemen: Isikeli Akan, Rancho Verde; Nolan Bisogno, Santiago; Paula Hafoka, Centennial; Manuel Almandariz, Rancho Verde; Quireo Woolley, Murrieta Valley; Ty Whitworth, Linfield; Brian Ward, Norco; Alexia Manriquez, Vista del Lago.
Kicker: Fidel Romo, Banning.

DEFENSE
Defensive line: Kevin Atkins, Vista Murrieta; Carleton Washington, Rancho Verde; Max Pichardo, Paloma Valley; Kevin Padilla, San Jacinto.
Inside linebackers: Zach Brumbaugh, Centennial; Kevin Meitzenheimer, Moreno Valley; James Reeder, Rancho Verde; Zack Markworth, Citrus Hill; Kalil Mazen, Murrieta Valley
Outside linebackers: Desmond Williams, Centennial; Lee Anderson, Rancho Verde; Austin Cuicchi, Temescal Canyon; Jaden Gardner, Notre Dame.
Defensive backs: Jason Pickens, Rancho Verde; Skyler Thomas, Citrus Hill; Chacho Ulloa, Centennial; Wesley Smith, Notre Dame; Lorenzo Burns, Linfield; Jordan D’errico, Norco.

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Inland Empire routs Orange County 69-16 in all-star football

Although IE defense was not was just as good as the offense in a 69-16 win over Orange County on Saturday. OC managed barely over 100 yards of total offense. Of OC’s 16 points, only 3 of them were from the OC offense: as field goal on their opening drive. Since then, essentially nothing. 13 of the points came from OC’s defense and special teams.

Of the 9 IE TDs, San Bernardino County represented well. 1 was on a pass from San Gorgonio’s Nate Meadors, another was scored by Cajon’s Armani Green. Chino Hills’ Trent Goens also wreaked havoc, getting pressure on the OC quarterbacks.

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VIDEO: San Gorgonio’s Nate Meadors talks after IE’s big 69-16 win over OC

San Gorgonio’s Nate Meadors (who is undecided on a college) threw 3 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, caught six passes for 43 yards, ran twice for 7 yards and returned kicks in Inland Empire’s 69-16 win over Orange County on Saturday

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Unfair? San Bernardino County places only 10 on IE All-Star Football Team

It’s a little tougher to play in the all-star football game at Corona High School this year.
That’s because instead of it being a San Bernardino County vs. Riverside County game, it will be a team of Inland Empire All-Stars facing Orange County All-Stars on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in the OC vs. IE All-Star Classic.
On the 42-man Inland Empire roster, 10 players are from San Bernardino County, and no more than two on any of the county teams.
State champion Redlands East Valley has defensive back Isaiah Armstrong, who set the school record for interceptions, as well as linebacker Jakob Diaz.
San Gorgonio will represented by offensive lineman Julian Rodriguez and Nate Meadors, who played quarterback for the Spartans, but is listed as a wide receiver for the all-star game.
Chino Hills also has two players in offensive lineman Clay Garcelli and defensive lineman Trent Goens, as does Carter in defensive back Zamore Zigler and defensive lineman Kyon Clark.
Rancho Cucamonga (wide receiver Chase Stephens), Etiwanda (linebacker Khaylan Thomas) and Kaiser (offensive lineman Eric Villalobos) each placed one player on the team.
The team is coached by Corona Centennial coach Matt Logan and assisted by Riverside Poly coach Dennis Brown.

Did San Bernardino County get screwed?
Not really. Riverside County is better overall. And the 2 coaches are from Riverside County, so as is the case in all-star games, they pick more of the players they know.

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Changes for Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic: and it’s still happening

San Gorgonio’s Tahir Rashed-Mills (in white) runs in last year’s Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic.

Did you think you missed this year’s Inland Empire All-star Football Classic? The one that each year takes place on the second weekend of January?

Continue reading “Changes for Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic: and it’s still happening” »

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Inland Empire Football Classic Postscript

After the wild game on Saturday night at Corona High School, I needed time to recover from deadline stress and the excitement of the night.

Here are some thoughts:

  • First, I was impressed how much each coach wanted to win. It was not a win-at-all-costs mantra, nor did they take the fun out of it in order to win. But the playcalling and San Bernardino player substitutions proved how much San Bernardino wanted to win. It was also obvious in the San Bernardino goal-line stand that ended regulation and sent the game to OT.
  • Odd play that didn’t make it into my story. With the score tied 21-21 in the third quarter, Riverside lined up for a 50-yard field goal. The snap was bobbled bounced away, the holder grabbed it back and the kicker made the kick. Meanwhile, San Bernardino, thinking it was against the all-star rules to rush, stood back and watched for several seconds. It was a ridiculous moment to most observers, because had there been a rush, there’s no way the kick would have been made. After a lengthy discussion, it was determined that on field goals (but not on extra points) the defense was allowed to rush the kicker. So Riverside got to rekick. This time the snap and hold were good, but the kick was wide.
  • Even at the end of regulation, officials believed there was no overtime, even though there was overtime three years ago. But game organizers changed their mind after meeting at midfield, prompting the overtime.
  • Even in a 31-28 OT defeat, San Bernardino proved a lot. First, that the football is not so bad on this side of the county line. Also, the San Bernardino team, fans and coaches deserved respect for the way they acted. For the record, I had Riverside with 13 penalties for 111 yards, San Bernardino with four for 40 yards. I also saw some taunting from Riverside players after the game-inning kick, but as far as I could tell, San Bernardino acted with class. Stereotypes aren’t always true.
  • Some final offensive stats for San Bernardino: Tahir Rashed-Mills, 5-9 passing, 1 INT, 1 TD, 104 yards, 13 carries, 145 yards, 1 TD. Daniel Martinez, 3-5 passing, 12 yards, 5 rushes, 20 yards. Javone Morgan (A QB who didn’t play there in the game), 1 carry, minus-6 yards; 1 reception, 34 yards. Brandon Scott, 3 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD. Isaiah Dunn, 2 receptions, 12 yards; Anthony Grayson, 1 reception, 3 yards.  Tacory Spencer, 8 carries, 19 yards, 1 TD; Ben Fitzpatrick 2 carries, 10 yards, 1 TD; Tawon Green 4 carries, 5 yards; Cruz Duke 1 carry, 2 yards.

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Riverside County routs San Bernardino County 31-0

Tim Salter told his players a the 27th annual Inland Empire All-star Football Classic that Saturday’s 31-0 loss by his San Bernardino County squad to Riverside County at Corona High School was not indicative of what good players they were.
They got to show little of their talents, as Riverside dominated, holding a 348-73 edge in yards of total offense.
San Bernardino had two good chances to score. One came when Silverado’s Victor Iosefa returned a fumble 32 yards to the Riverside 33 in the first quarter. They ended up having to settle for a field goal try, but kicker Angel Ramirez (Fontana) had his attempt smothered before he was even able to get it off the ground.
The other came in the third quarter when they were trailing 17-0.
A 26-yard run by Christian Powell (Upland) and a 12-yard pass from Dimitri Morales (Rancho Cucamonga) to Powell gave San Bernardino a first-and-goal at the 8. Two running plays later, they had a third-and-goal at the 1. But running back Donta Abron (Upland) was thrown for a loss on two consecutive plays and Riverside took over on downs.
In the end, turnovers (three) were costly. San Bernardino also seemed to have difficulty blocking, especially in the run game (27 carries for 23 yards). But they also had a difficult time containing speedy Riverside quarterbacks Justin Gheorge (Riverside North), Hayden Gavett (Corona Centennial) and Dane Tiedeman (Palm Springs). That trio combined to complete nine of 11 passes for 90 yards and carry the ball 17 times for 127 yards.
While standing on the San Bernardino sideline, everything I saw of the San Bernardino players echoed what Salter said: they were good kids, listened and didn’t use foul language.
But for whatever reason, things didn’t really click on the field. It didn’t indicate what kind of players they were or what kind of players many of them will be at the next level.

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