Charter Oak falls to Villa Park in Claremont Tournament semis, West Covina wins Arroyo Linemen Competition

Charter Oak scored the first two touchdowns and added an interception against Villa Park to take a big early lead, but the Chargers lost when a Villa Park stepped in front of a Travis Santiago pass for an interception in the end zone to break a tie with very little time left on the clock.

Etiwanda won the tournament by beating Villa Park in the finals.

Elsewhere, West Covina won BIG at the Arroyo Linemen Competition. Azuza finished second.

Aram’s takes:

West Covina:
Well, they were supposed to beat a cast of mostly Mid-Valley Division teams in the Arroyo line battle. They did that easily. I wasn’t there, but this is a good sign that the Bulldogs will have another good line. I’m still worried about the passing game.

Charter Oak: First, Khari Garcia is going to be one of the top DBs in the area. This kid is fantastic. Second, the Chargers need to develop a consistent No. 2 receiver. With Santiago at QB, Scoby running the rock and Gilchrist impossible for most corners to match up to, it might be getting nit picky to say the Chargers need a consistent No. 2 receiver. But you gotta have it in the Inland. Uh yeah, I know I tweeted that CO was putting it on Villa Park, and they were, but I’m a little disappointed because I watched the VP team all day and they were very, very gritty. That’s what got them past CO. I also think the Chargers may have taken their foot off the gas and then couldn’t get it back. Thinking ahead to a championship against fellow Inland team Etiwanda may have had something to do with it. All in all, a great summer for CO.

St. Francis: The Knights lost to Villa Park and there’s no shame in that. The passing game looks solid with Leibowitz at QB and Talianko a fine target. One that concerns me, though, is the lack of athleticism on the outside.

La Salle: The Lancers definitely got some guys in. The talent is way better than a 0-10 team. However, the defense looks shaky and the QB play needs polish. Also, the way this team carries itself reminds of some guy you see at your class reunion and he’s trying to hard to impress everyone.

Santa Fe: They beat Chino Hills in a conso game and gave Charter Oak a little battle in their first game. This team looks sneaky good. The QB play is solid and the athletes are more than fine. I warned about this team this spring and I stand by it. Yes, it’s only passing league, but I maintain this is the team to beat in the Del Rio.

Chino Hills:
Very, very bad day. They got beat handily by Culver City and then didn’t seem interested against Santa Fe. Thank goodness the line play should be some of the best around.

Claremont: Have no idea where QB Simko was, but the Pack clearly need him. The rest of the talent is very solid. But without Simko, Claremont was done early against La Salle.

Muir: Wasn’t able to see any of Muir.

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