Star-News Player of the Year Ty Gangi to walk on at Colorado …

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St. Francis QB Ty Gangi, who was the 2013 Star-News Player of the Year, will walk on at Colorado next fall.

Gangi didn’t play much his junior season because he was behind and incumbent starter and was injured, and that may have cost him a bit in the recruiting process. But he was electric as a senior, throwing for 2,882 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Aram’s take: Something tells me Gangi is gonna make it.

QB Christian Lara leaves Santa Fe for La Mirada …

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Christian Lara, who threw for 2,126 yards and 17 touchdowns last year at Santa Fe, has transferred to La Mirada.

Lara also ran for 480 yards and eight touchdowns. If you were wondering what La Mirada was gonna do for a QB with Kevin Dillman off to Texas, well here’s your answer.

Aram’s take: Lara is easily one of the best QBs in the Southeast Division and immediately makes La Mirada a major player. The Mats already got WR Tony Brown in from Servite, so now you have a dual-threat QB who can get him the ball.

La Canada names Ramsey Lambert its new head coach …

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La Canada High School announced 31-year-old Ramsey Lambert as its next varsity football head coach on Wednesday. Lambert replaces James Sims, who won seven games in two seasons at the school.

“I’m excited and it’s a great opportunity to come in and hopefully turn some things around and keep that program going in the right direction,” Lambert said. “I hope we can bring some excitement to the community and a new brand of football that the community and school can be proud of.”

Lambert was most recently the offensive coordinator at Oak Hills in Hesperia, which is where he’s from. La Canada will be Lambert’s first head coach job.

La Canada hasn’t had a winning record since going 6-5 in 2006 under longtime coach Rich Wheeler. Since Wheeler stepped down after the 2008 season, the Spartans have had two head coaches.

Last season, La Canada finished 5-6, was third in the Rio Hondo League and made the Mid-Valley Division playoffs but was routed by Paraclete in the first round.

Lambert has said he’s researched about the last seven years of performance by the program and is hoping to build on last season’s progress.

“The people there in that community are really strung out on success,” Lamber said. “They want to see their kids do well. They want to see their kids do well not only in the class room but in every aspect no matter what extra-curricular activities they join.

“We’ll try to tap into that and see if we can excite some of the alumni about the program as well.”

Lambert in the process of putting together his staff and has already offered to retain assistant coach Jason Sarceda from last year’s staff. Lambert will teach on campus.

Your Monrovia head coach search update …

Naturally, Monrovia is being very tight lipped about the goings on surrounding its head coach search. So, that means I have piece together whatever information I can and pass it along with the best degree of confidence possible.

Underwhelmed — Evidently, Monrovia officials weren’t wowed by the first batch of interviews/candidates. From what I hear, this means that none of the coaches already in the program will be getting the job.

Reaching out — Because Monrovia officials weren’t too excited about their first attempt, they started reaching out to coaches they thought might be a good fit. There’s been some dialogue with some very interesting and well-known names, from what I hear and now there’s going to be another round of interviews (which may have already just happened).

Things to consider — There is some uncertainty with this job because of the chance Monrovia gets a serious bump up in playoff division next month. The new coach likely won’t be running roughshod over the Mid-Valley Division and if the program has some lean years in terms of playoff success, what toll will that take on the talent base? I’ve also heard the frosh team this past fall was nothing write home about, especially numbers-wise.

Next year’s local recruits could be a special class …

With Signing Day now in the rear view mirror, it’s time for area football fans to turn their attention to next year’s class of local high school football recruits. And if early returns are any indicator, the local class of 2015 it could be just as lucrative as ’14.

Arguably the area’s biggest hotbed of recruiting activity will be at Muir where the Mustangs have two outstanding receiver/defensive back prospects in Taeon Mason and DeSean Holmes. Mason just recently gave an early verbal commitment to USC, but if recent history tells us anything, early commits are about as valuable as pet rocks.

Holmes, who transferred to Muir from Alemany this offseason, has an ever-growing list of suitors that include UCLA, USC, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Washington.

Monrovia has been no stranger to hot recruits and next year should be no different. The Wildcats are top-heavy with receivers who also play defensive back. Leading the way is Jordan Nathan, who turned a lot of heads recently at the US Army All-American combine in Texas where he ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash time with a clocking of 4.29 seconds.

Other Wildcats receiver/defensive backs who figure to draw interest are Khalil Bradely, James Jackson and Octavius Spencer.

The Diamond Bar duo of receiver/defensive backs Kanya Bell and Antonio “Noodles” Hull should also see their fair share of interest. Bell is recovering from a knee injury that cut short his junior season, but does have offers USC, UCLA, Washington, Arizona St., Nebraska and Boise St., to name a few.

Hull played in just one game his junior season and plans to use the offseason passing circuit and 7-on-7 competitions to bolster his stock. He will also visit several college camps this spring.

La Mirada had a stellar signing class this winter and may have another waiting in the wings. Leading the way is lineman Anthony Cerillo, who already has an offer from Colorado. Fellow lineman Nikko Nau figures to get offers soon, as does new transfer Tony Brown, a receiver who just came in from Servite.

Diamond Ranch has been sending players to the next level consistently under head coach Roddy Layton. Next year’s group should include defensive back Daniel Garcia, receiver/defensive back John Perkins, linebacker Chris Kirchgraber and receiver Jordan Frisby.

Glendora offensive lineman Ben Northup has next-level size, at 6-foot-6, 300 pounds and should see plenty of attention from recruiters because of it.