Refs make a statement: Rosemead and Rowland combine for 27 penalties in Thursday’s game …

Let me put it to you this way. Rowland-Rosemead kicked off at 7 p.m. After 16 first-half penalties thrown by a crew that seemingly wanted to make a statement just as bad as the players did, the game didn’t reach halftime until 8:49 p.m.!!!!!!!!!! The Tribune’s unofficial count when it was all said and done: 27 PENALTIES!!!!!!! It was quite honestly the worst officiating I’ve ever seen over the span of four quarters. The refs made it so that there was NO FLOW to Thursday’s game. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was horrified and angry. I spoke to a local coach who echoed the same sentiments. It was all everybody in the stands were talking about. Both coaches had comments, with Rosemead’s Matt Koffler putting it best by saying “Unbelievable, unbelievable.” Yeah, it was. I saw my first penalty for a horse-collar tackle that occurred FROM THE FRONT. And it didn’t result in an automatic first down, at least not according to the down marker. Unreal. I saw Rowland call a timeout and after 2 minutes for the coaches to talk to the players the refs decided to measure. LIKE MEASURE TOWARD THE END OF THE TIMEOUT. NOT DURING. NOT AT THE BEGINNING, BUT RIGHT AFTER. Amazing use of time. Never seen anything like it. These guys need to be told they’re there to MANAGE THE GAME, not GET IN THE WAY OF IT!

Also: Somebody please tell the Rosemead PA announcer to take the Jolly Rancher out of his mouth when he speaks. Excuse me, Holmes, but I don’t want to hear you sucking on something before and after you speak. BRUTAL. And I won’t even mention the profanity EVERYBODY in the stadium heard when he left his mic on. Oops, I just did mention it. OK, I won’t even mention that when you say “Rosemead will play San Marino Titans next week”, you need to stick in a “THE”. “Rosemead will play THE San Marino Titans next week.” Oops, I just mentioned it. Awful.

Damien QB saga takes a turn: Sophomore Gage Pucci to get the start for Spartans on Thursday against Chaffey …

Damien will start sophomore QB Gage Pucci on Thursday night when the Spartans visit Chaffey.

Pucci played the entire second half last week after senior starter Enrique Zaldivar was benched at halftime for being ineffective. Pucci wasn’t much better, but technically threw what proved to be the clinching touchdown on a 54-yard swing pass to Jalen Castille.

I say technically because it was pretty much a dump off to Castille, who did all the dirty work down the Diamond Ranch sideline before getting in the paint. It was Pucci’s only completion in five attempts. He was also intercepted (on his second throw).

Zaldivar was 3 of 10 for 30 yards and two interceptions in the first half.

Aram’s take:
Neither QB got it done vs. D-Ranch, but a lot of that could be that D-Ranch is pretty darn talented and has a nice, athletic defense. But here’s the thing, if the Spartans can’t throw it better, they’re in deep trouble. Coach Gano is no dummy; he’s got Pucci for three more years and Zaldivar for three more months. We all know that coaches will often take their lumps with a young QB by playing them as sophs so that the experience pays off for the next two years. That could be what’s going on here. Pucci is Damien’s QB of the future and the future could be now if Zaldivar doesn’t step it up. At any rate, I would expect another quick hook by Gano on Thursday if Pucci isn’t cutting it against Chaffey.

All-Encompassing SGV(N) Top 25 after Week 1 …


Don’t sleep on Cantwell. That’s all I’m saying.

1. Charter Oak (2-0) — Best win of the weekend.
2. Bishop Amat (1-1) — Lancers will grow from Servite loss.
3. Monrovia (1-0) — Got rolling behind two huge De’Shawn Ramirez TDs.
4. La Habra (2-0) — Highlanders have tall task the next few weeks.
5. St. Francis (1-0) — Knights gave Arcadia the late boot.
6. Chino Hills (1-1) — Huskies bounced back in a big way.
7. West Covina (1-1) — Injuries are piling up in a scary way.
8. St. Paul (1-0) — Week 1 was a strange time for a BYE, but season resumes Friday.
9. Damien (1-0) — Sparty falls after a win because more was expected.
10. Arcadia (0-1) — Apaches need to put St. Francis behind them quickly.
11. Muir (2-0) — Mustangs need to stay healthy and consistent.
12. Covina (1-1) — Colts begin steady climb back up the rankings ladder.
13. Maranatha (2-0) — The Crown belongs to the Minutemen.
14. Santa Fe (1-1) — Chiefs bounce back, now get St. John Bosco
15. La Serna (2-0) — Combined record of first two opponents is 0-4.
16. Claremont (2-0) — Have to hand it to the ‘Pack for big start.
17. Arroyo (2-0) — Knights, as expected, riding QB Steven Rivera’s hot hand.
18. Cantwell (1-0) — Defense shined in rout of Schurr.
19. South Hills (1-1) — Huskies get their crack at WestCo at perfect time.
20. Bonita (1-1) — Bearcats never got rolling against Claremont.
21. San Dimas (1-1) — Saints marched all over Azusa.
22. Pomona (2-0) — Devils should be 3-0 heading into game with Chino Hills.
23. Montebello (2-0) — Win over Rosemead is nice, but can Oilers stop Arroyo?
24. Alhambra (2-0) — Moors have put up 81 points in two games.
25. Azusa (0-1) — Couldn’t handle San Dimas, but Aztecs will learn from it.

Sunday Morning Quarterback: Thoughts and notes about the week that was …

Los Altos is now 2-0. I don’t care about the competition. If you knew how bad things were in recent years, the Conquerors players who have stuck things out and new coach Dale Ziola deserve all the praise in the world. Wilson is 0-2 but you don’t hear/read nearly the same uproar on the blogs about the Wildcats’ shortcomings this year compared to last. Why would that be? Here’s a clue: Pomona is 2-0. Call me crazy, but I like Bishop Amat’s nonleague results this year a lot better than last year. The Lancers will be a much better team for it come November. Call me crazy again, but West Covina’s season is teetering already. Injuries don’t heal during the season, they linger. South Hills will be taking no prisoners this Friday. Speaking of teetering, Glendora may be in deeper trouble than you think. The Tarts, as Charter Oak’s PA announcer likes to call them, have scored a total of 22 points in eight quarters, but only SEVEN of those 22 have come in the second half. Comments from new coach Todd Quinsey after losses to Charter Oak and Monrovia are nearly identical “I couldn’t have scripted it better in the first half,” Quinsey said after the Charter Oak loss. Following the Monrovia loss it was: “We completely outplayed them. We gave up that TD in the last minute. We probably should have been up 14-0 at halftime.” Yes, the second half has been a problem for the Tarts. The seven points they’ve scored in the second half this year came long after Monrovia had put the game away. Like I said earlier this season, once you crack the code of the Wing-T, which CO and M-Town obviously did sometime in the second quarter of their respective games, it’s all gravy from there. The flipside for Glendora fans, though, is their first two games came against the Trib’s top-ranked team and the Star-News’ top-ranked team. Speaking of Charter Oak. Don’t knock the Chargers because Roosevelt QB Aaron Crone played only one down on Friday. The Chargers’ offense did damage against Roosevelt’s defense and that had little to do whether or not Crone played. And the secondary I hyped all this summer had four picks. Jason David texted me to say that Aaren Vaughns could develop into one of the most exciting Charter Oak has had in years. That’s a scary thought. In case you haven’t heard, Pomona is 2-0. Arroyo QB Steven Rivera is building his case to be the Tribune Player of the Year. The senior has 10 TDs through the air and two on the ground. Huge bounce back by San Dimas against Azusa. Arcadia had a very nice showing in a tough loss to St. Francis. Now Apache and Monrovia fans can spend the week arguing about whether a loss final-minute loss to St. Francis is better than a big win over Glendora. Bad timing: I referred to Damien QB Gage Pucci as Kevin Pucci in my game story for Damien’s win over D-Ranch. No, his pops didn’t throw the TD pass. It’s kind of odd, but I was impressed by D-Ranch on Friday while not impressed by Damien. Is it possible to do both? Anyway, Hacienda League beware: the Panthers are better than I thought talent-wise and you can tell this team is going to be dangerous when it puts it all together. And signs are the Panthers are slowly getting better. I can’t tell whether Damien was that bad on offense or D-Ranch that good on defense. Still, Sparty needs a lot more out of its passing game. Muir is 2-0, and if the Mustangs aren’t the flavor of the week in what’s becoming a wide-open Southeast Division, they ought to be … for now. Claremont is 2-0 in the post-Matt Simko era. Montebello is 2-0 after taking care of Rosemead. You were warned all August long on this blog that Pete Gonzalez was putting something together down there. The scary part of La Habra’s schedule is set to commence. Schurr misses Aaron Cantu, obviously. And who wouldn’t?