Recruiting updates … COACHES, drop me a line …

The responses to Wednesday’s article that provided a recruiting update on some of the players in the area was outstanding.

One coach in the area said that a college recruiter/assistant coach told him that a group of recruiters/coaches got off the plane at LAX on Wednesday morning and saw my story on Fred’s blog and immediately started making calls.

That’s great news!

As I’ve told all of you before, you would be astonished by some of the major names in college and pro sports who have told me they read these SGVN blogs. Astonished! But don’t be. They like it, too.

Say what you want about the blogs, but they are undeniably great exposure for our SGV/Whittier athletes.

So, I am now asking all coaches or even readers to contact me either via email (aram.tolegian@sgvn.com) or thru comments on this blog about players being recruited in ALL OF OUR COVERAGE AREAS (Star-News, Trib and Whittier) and I will certainly be writing more stories like that and possibly even get the opinions of some scouting services.

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West Covina to host Chris Rix Christmas Combine this Saturday!!!

What: Chris Rix Christmas Combine
When: Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Who: Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers and Defensive Backs. TOP GUN Division for HS and College players will run from 9am-12pm. YOUNG GUN Division for athletes from ages 8-13 will run from 1pm-3pm.
Where: West Covina High School-ThybergField
Cost: The cost is $30. There are scholarships opportunities available for families in need. Part of the proceeds from the camp will go to charity for the holiday season.

To register call (626) 646-9594 or (626) 872-0068 and also email athlete info to ChampionTraining@live.com

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Glendora hires Jerry Lewallen as head coach …

Glendora has hired Jerry Lewallen to be its new football coach.

Lewallen was the defensive coordinator of the Tartans freshman team last season. He was in the running to replace former varsity head coach Mark Pasquarella last year before Todd Quinsey got the job. Quinsey resigned after one season.

Lewallen is a teacher at Goddard Middle School in Glendora, so that alleviates the complication of supplying the new coach with a teaching job, which was ultimately why Quinsey left.

Final All-Encompassing SGV(N) Top 25 …

1. West Covina (13-1) — Most dominant postseason run we might ever see.
2. Charter Oak (10-2) — Being a top-8 team in this year’s Inland Div. is saying something.
3. Monrovia (11-3) — One of the top programs in SoCal after back-to-back titles.
4. La Habra (9-4) — CIF title run was ended, but losses came to some pretty nice names.
5. Bishop Amat (6-5) — Was right there in second half with PAC-5 champs.
6. Chino Hills (6-5) — A point away from being in Inland semis in a rebuilding year.
7. St. Francis (9-3) — Can say they were ousted in second round by solid Arroyo Grande.
8. Damien (7-4) — Sparty made big strides and may be even better next season.
9. St. Paul (7-3) — Hard to see this team miss the playoffs, but that’s life in the Mission.
10. Covina (11-2) — Gave M-Town an OK test, but still came up short of the finals.
11. San Gabriel (9-5) — Mats exceeded expectations with epic playoff run.
12. La Mirada (8-5) — Certainly had some impressive moments this season.
13. Arcadia (9-3) — Coming up short of the semis was a major buzzkill.
14. La Serna (10-4) — Finals disaster aside, pretty impressive for a rebuilding year.
15. San Dimas (10-3) — Saints gambled and lost, but at least they were at the table.
16. Arroyo (10-2) — Final-minute loss to SG really stings after Mats reach finals.
17. Muir (8-5) — ‘Stangs got hot late, but putting up only 3 on La Serna proves my point.
18. Los Altos (8-4) — Amazing turnaround, but now the expectations are back, right?
19. Whittier Christian (7-5) — Strong season considering what was lost from ’10.
20. Cantwell (8-4) — Showed some fight at times.
21. Azusa (8-4) — Montview dominance in tact and playoff showing was solid.
22. Alhambra (9-3) — Moors probably thinking they’ll be next year’s San Gabriel.
23. Santa Fe (6-5) — Still perplexed by what happened against Muir.
24. Pasadena (6-6) — With Brandon Cox back, are ‘Dogs early Pacific favorites?
25. Maranatha (8-3) — You win 8 games and everybody is disappointed.

Follow me on Twitter @ChemicalAT

Sunday Morning Quarterback: The offseason is here and the fun is just beginning …

I thought Big Bob was gonna come out of his chair when I got near the Monrovia victory bell BEFORE the Mid-Valley championship game. Aram and the M-Town bell was such a compelling photo, Chris Rix felt the need to retweet the stunning image to his minions last night. Speaking of Rix, he may have something coming for us all to enjoy this week. Stay tuned on this blog for that … Congrats obviously go out to the Valley’s two CIF championship programs: West Covina and Monrovia. OK enough, let’s get to some buzz. It seems I can’t go anywhere these days without hearing the Kurt Scoby-to-Monrovia rumors. I guess some people are unfazed by all the eligibility denials under the current CIF guidelines these days. It’s an interesting thought: Scoby was a Duarte Hawk, he’s got ties to M-Town, M-Town needs a RB for next season … but he’d still have to get eligible with CIF. Speaking of which, I’m not alone in hoping the current transfer rules are abolished this spring. It makes for fun reporting when dudes are moving all over the place. The rich might get richer at West Covina this offseason. Two of Antonio “Noodles” Hull’s Snoop Youth League teammates are reportedly considering the Mike Maggiore’s empire among a couple of private schools for their high school destinations. Although they’d be frosh next year, they’re reportedly old enough and good enough to be varsity players. Speaking of the Noodler, word was that he gave West Covina’s first-team defense more trouble last week in practice than La Serna QB Frankie Palmer did in the actual game. One West Covina coach said “we couldn’t tackle him, he just kept getting away”. Let’s see how the offseason goes, but my money says that’s your West Covina next year. Speaking of Coach Maggiore (muh-jor-ee), I made the mistake of playing catch with him during warmups for the Southeast Division championship. I had no clue that cold night + cold pigskin + under-thrown ball = sprained middle finger for Aram. I showed Maggiore the damage on the sideline at the Monrovia game on Saturday night … over and over again. Tip Sanders’ firing … yes, I said firing … and Todd Quinsey’s resignation are just the tip of the iceberg in what should be an amazing offseason of coaching changes/moves. Speaking of which, I spoke to former Duarte coach Wardell Crutchfield Jr. at the Mid-Valley championship and he said he might be making a return to the sideline. It won’t be as a head coach, but it will be as a defensive coordinator. I asked where, and Crutch said “Somewhere from Pomona to Pasadena“. That tells me little other than Crutch will be in the coverage area, which is a good thing. New Duarte coach Jason Martin is related to former Muir standout Demetrice Martin, who is currently an assistant coach at his alma mater Washington. Back to Charter Oak, in addition to Amat the Chargers might be playing Tesoro next season. That sounds good and that may be, but where you callin from, what city? I guess that would certainly get the Chargers ready for the Sierra and the Inland, but hopefully Big Lou and staff realize that depth is an issue when you’re in the 626 and competing against the 909 (or 951) in Noviembre. Like a lot of people, I’m wondering what will show up on CO’s doorstep this offseason in the form of a QB. If Monrovia was able to land a Blake Heyworth from St. Francis, then you gotta think prospects might be coming from as far away as the OC to throw the ball Aaren Vaughns and Bryce Bobo next season. OK, maybe the OC is a stretch, but you just know somebody is coming from somewhere. Looking back to the summer passing circuit, which feels like just yesterday, I’m wondering if it showed us anything at all. For every Charter Oak that flashed what great things were coming once the season started, there was a West Covina, which lost its first two games of the SGV Shootout and made a short afternoon of things. The Bulldogs were literally eating tacos while the rest of the tourney carried on. Diamond Bar won it … Azusa was runner up. See what I mean? One result that meant something and one result that meant nothing. But it does make for good blog fodder. Back to West Covina and Monrovia. It’s gonna be hard to see them get bumped up in division when league changes won’t be taking place this year. Remember, it’s not just the team that gets bumped up, but the entire league. I could go on and on, but I won’t (for now). You’re gonna wanna keep it here, though, because things are funna to get interesting very soon …