Is Damien No. 1?

bleedblungold:
Just giving you the straight facts man. Are you a coach or just a 'thinks he knows-it-all fan? Did you ever play football or was it fooseball? Just wondering!

Are you crazy or just from another country, you made an excuse after saying this is not to make an excuse, really what is going on here.
Come on ernest, "knows how to run when necessary" define necessary, and now the "o" line is no good, im sure all thier dads like that comment, and in case your coaches dont realize it you can put more recievers in the patterns.
Define utility Qber, thats a new one, well ive written a great deal on this situation regarding Qbers and such but maybe im writting too much info because no one is getting it, the facts man just the facts.
I guess blaming your staff for not putting together a quality scheme and with enough secondary recievers, or actually looking at his tough schedule and realizing that if this kid runs against these teams 50% of the time he is going to get killed, running isnt a plan for a Qber its what you do when a plan fails.
Its not like your playing Mt view or Montebello high here I mean a kid could run for over a 100 and pass for another 200 easily against some of these teams, but not with Damiens schedule.
This is the coaches fault brother that he's all broken down and he hasnt even gotten to league, pretty brutal situation.
Sad to say your team has become pretty one dimensional hopefully they dont get that boy killed, if only the RB could pick up the slack.

John,

FYI Not to make excuses for a kid who is a good QB and one who knows how to run when necessary and has a very accurate arm; Mendrun was playing with a concussion at Los Altos along with badly brused ribs and lung. It's hard to pass when you don't have any pass protection or when your receiver is well covered by the opposite team. Admit it, he's a great utility QB and will help bring a victory to DHS against Glendora.

workman is not a power house football team. but maybe they deserve some credit for they're record. pasadena star news said in the preview against bosco tech that the lobos were 2-0 because of careful scheduling, but the lobos play those same preseason schools year in and year out. if you think about it, the lobos have the same record as los altos, and WC with one more win. maybe they deserve at least the 10 spot.

As the dad of one of the senior starting lineman, I can honestly say that that blog about the senior lineman being unhappy with anything is just a lie.....don't listen to it.
Those boys are behind the program 100%
Maybe the folks in green are trying to get an "edge" in another way.
Nice try!

"or the people that said monrovia couldnt play with the great west co, if you saw james davis that night it was power and grace all in one, simply because I really dont have a home team I just love the game, this is truly the way to look at high school football when you step outside of onesself and ones own interest you can truly be honest"
Bleedblungold, James Davis & Monrovia were impressive that night, but did you also see that game winning 6 play drive that started on West Co's 28 yardline & 43 sec. left in the game, and ended with a winning field goal with 1 second on the clock. you can call it lucky, but the West Co. boy's still had to execute and make it happen, everyone seems to forget about that.
Monrovia played stellar against West Co. but in
the end West Co. was still better. Lets also not forget that West Co. still hasen't had all three of their tailbacks /recievers in the game since week 1 vs Mater Dei, I still think this is the key to West Co.s team, to have all three of those guy's in at the same time, along with the rest of the starters, if they can get a few games under their belt with their whole team I think they will roll. This week will be a big test vs Charter Oak.

Well just as I figured CRICKETS in the backround, as genesis said "theres no reply at all, is anybody listening", I know that the questions asked were tough to swallow, for both of the dynasties known as DAMIEN and GLENDORA.

Well sherlock about now spartan coaches wondering how to keep kid from getting broken in half and still having shot at winning, glens coaches trying to fix the Qber mess that they started this week and also wondering why did they do it, please just why did you do it, this has to be biggest bone head move of last 5 years for glens staff.

Amat better beat St Francis or not only is it going to be along season, but you will possibly lose credibility with a lot of eighth graders in this valley. Hopefully there will be something left in the cubbard for next staff to work with. And if we win well then I apologize, just am used to great coaching and teams at highest level.

One thing I have to give credit to staff for is thier ability to still schedule tough opponents, although the rest of the valley seems to disrespect a teams courage and willingness to play a tough schedule, there are still a few old timers out here in this valley who know enough about the game to appreciate the great battles and the true nature of the game and why to schedule tough opponents.
I admit it takes courage to admit that playing and competing at a tougher schedule is more important than going undefeated, two case in points,
Bonita last year undefeated in preseason 6-0 finished 8-2, no playoffs
Loyola 0-4 in preseason, finishes 6-4 wins Div I title.
Something to learn about adversity and persistance, and how to rise above.
As for all the other bullies with easy preseason schedules, this is last week to read press clippings because from now on no one cares what your ranked and how badly you beat down little sisters of the poor.

wow Amat is the Ayala of private schools well said chad......

Volek,

No knock on Mendrum, went to the Los Altos game, he is not as good as I thought I would see. Just another average QB that can scramble. Los Altos QB is small but showed a better arm.

Bleedbluegold,

you hit it on the head, beating Damien did take a lot out of Los Altos, they are still trying to regroup and get healthy, but Los Altos did beat Damien. With the win gives Los Altos the higher ranking.

Somewhat of interest now in high school football one thing I can say about Damien is they have almost as much homers as Glendora, but still no one address the real issues here, just babblings of a frustrated and tormented mind, still cant deal with the loss to Los Altos, any real student of the game knows when they were bested and has respect for a great competetor and the victor.

I must admit that beating of Damien at Los Al took a great deal out of them, and this proves my first point about the divisions, if after damien was basset or rosemead before st francis Los Al would have had a better shot at beating St francis also.

Another case in point that really is starting to bother the true football minded is this injury report by your crew if he plays then the kid plays btoken ribs, fingers, seperated shoulder, bruised lung, damaged joints etc enough with the lone ranger routine, REALLY NOW do you think he is the only kid in the valley who plays hurt, every team has them so please enough now, Whats next now a billboard off the 210 and 57 saying he has broken ribs and still plays. If we were to take a poll around the valley you might be surprised at the list of players broken and beat up, the difference is that they arent putting it all over the internet to read

And sorry to pull rank on you ernest, but if thats the case why are the coaches still running this kid, I am still waiting for a reply to my earlier question about this offense and how it can be stopped, once again now "make him throw the ball" there lies the answer to big Gs questions, but dont worry I feel that Glendoras giants should have no problem doing this, I mean if scrappy little Los Altos did it then im sure GIANT fast tenacious GLENDORA can handle the job i mean hey this is #1 against #2 the great DAMIEN and The Feared GLENDORA.

This is the way it is, if and I do mean if Bishop Amat beats St francis and Damien does a number on glendora then glendra is not allowed back in the conversation 1 thru 5 for the remainder of the season, and bishop will be considered # 1 and Los Altos to be #2 rowland will slide back to where they feel more comfortable, seeing they lost to glendora who lost to damien, case finished, I dont care if the win is by one point by a freaking drop kick a win is a win 1 second or 1 hundred seconds left.

And to joseph please just because you dont understand something does not make it crap, try thinking about these names VALENCIA, CARSON, HART, MATER DAI, ST FRANCIS, MONROVIA, MAYFAIR, TUSTIN, ST JOHN BOSCO, DAMIEN, WESTERN, these are the teams we were playing when you were going undefeated no one is blaming the kids, these are just the facts

and to the truce, dan and the rest need to look at your team as if you were from another school believe me everything changes then, the 5'7" Qber 200+ yds and 2 Tds from los al throwing over the 6'4"& 6'7" DEs from damien looks more impressive and the 6'2" Qber chucking 74 or so against 6'1" &6'0" DEs not so impressed with, but hey thats just my take on it, or the people that said monrovia couldnt play with the great west co, if you saw james davis that night it was power and grace all in one, simply because I really dont have a home team I just love the game, this is truly the way to look at high school football when you step outside of onesself and ones own interest you can truly be honest

if amats "SO GOOD" why dont they win
o wait their the ayala of the private school leagues

-bleedblungold-

Are you baggin on Mendrum's ability to pass? The kid can thread the needle with precision on any Defense. Watch the 2 games before he BROKE his rib. Almost 500 yards in the air with 5 td's,and one of those games was against a top-10 state opponent in St. Jon Bosco. Since then you can notice a difference in his air game, but he has picked up the slack with 250 yards on the ground with 5 total td's. Common, the kid is nails who plays with a broken rib?! Especially at a position where there is a big "X" on your chest. But your right he must not be that good especially in the eyes of Boise State, Colorado State, and Navy. Good point buddy. You Amat haters are all the same..

Hey, I Go There!

Ok Whatever!

GOOD NIGHTY NOW!

mike the clone what are talking about???

i am here and that is not happening

sit down and shut up

Bleedsbluegold

Great blog about the differences in the divisions. Unless you have lived it you do not know it.

Coaches corner,

Your right about the old crusty coaches. Remember Tate Duff at AMAT, a defensive guru. Joe Rodgers and coach woods. You won't find a coach in the valley with their knowledge of line play. Crusty coaches are coaches that do not look good on the sideline but they sure make their head coaches look good.Look at Fair at Los Altos, crusty coach, defensive mind. As for what built Amat, Family, Loyalty and Tradition. I am afraid that I have not seen it there in a couple years, I hope he gets it back soon.

As for Damien #1 team, I do not get it. I saw Los Altos beat them, and if it were not for Gano it would not be close. Don't get me wrong Gano is a good coach but he reminds me of Mike Martz, A good Offensive coordinator but he needs to have a good head coach to keep him in check. Los Altos's Defense contained the great Mendrum, made him look silly at times. And if Damien was such a powerhouse than why did they and Charter Oak opt out of their contracts. What other games are going to put more money in their pockets because of attendance. I do not get it.

As for the rankings Amat at #6 right about know because of the losses but also there on strength of schedule.

Stay away from the pipe,

You noted the recent success of Amat against Los Altos and Damien. The boosters need to pressure the coaches to go to Amat for a game, God knows Amat dodges no one. When was the last time one of these powerhouses went after Concord De La Salle, Valencia, Noter Dame, Loyola, Carson, Hart. I will stop here.

Go Lancers.

bleedbungold-

Like I said, everyone must be in midseason form if people can be reasonable with each other. Like I told someone before read the whole statement before getting trigger fingered! (sorry if I was impolite, but you were blasting away a little don't you think?)

As to your points about Damien I could NOT agree more. They are talented enough to be 5-0, should have beaten SJB by 10. And should have blown out Los Altos by 14,( That's a blow out against Fair, and a compliment to Los Altos, in case someone finds offense in that observation!)

Damien might go 8-2 from here on in or might go 6-5 like they did last year. ANY objective person would have to agree with that (brother it's your history !) But really they could have run the table with that talent. Is any school in SGV as talented at so many positions and as deep as Damien, I've seen seven teams in person and I have seen one! That's not to say I don't support or believe in the players but really it is what it is! Coaching wins at the high school level as much as anywhere.

Regarding Crook, yeah hopefully Coach P sat him down and he knows why the switcheroo is taking place. Same for the Soph. QB .Could be because Damien's put out about four QBs this year! Poly, Claremont, Charter Oak, and Glendora might need a "good" number 2! Damien's front "seven" rotated BIG MEN are all 260 plus, avg 6'3" and can move! I doubt Crook last the whole game, don't wish him hurt but if Glendora puts it in the air -watch out! Could be Matador blocking season.

Look forward to more insight for the Blue Crew. Are you going to chalk talk? Good luck vs. St. Francis I hope you put it to them and maybe we can see this BLOG after that! Imagime the silence if Damien and Bishop Amat take care of business this week!

Okay all together now...Hail Mary full of grace..brother I'm already praying!

THIS JUST IN……………

There are rumblings on the campus of “bagpiper U� just 3 days before the big game against Damien.

Inside sources tell me that some of the O-Line and some Seniors are very unhappy with some of the decisions being made at the QB and other spots last week at Rowland and weren’t to happy that they almost lost blaming the closeness of that game on the coaching staff.

One lineman even going so far as to say:

“Why are they pulling this S!@# now going into league play? We couldn’t get our timing on offense with the changes going back and forth�

My sources say’s basically saying they wanted to get the points on the board and let the second team get the reps in the fourth quarter after the game was put away. But it never was put away. Interesting point was made that Jordan Edmonds is banged up and has a noticeable limp around campus. Practice wasn’t a happy place on Monday.

“Jordan needed to rest in the later part of the Rowland game but couldn’t because the coaching staff was playing around with the offense and we couldn’t get a lead�

More to come on this, if I hear anymore.

Gezz did I just do a “Hacksaw Hamilton� impersonation…………next thing you know I’ll be doing a Feeling you Bagpipers!

Frankly, Pasqie has been doing some questionable stuff the last couple of weeks. Makes you wonder what’s really going on. If anything I’m losing my confidence in Pasquarella and not the kids themselves.

Out!

I agree it will come down to coaching, unfortunately for Damien that (head coach) will cost them the game.……Just ask last year.

My gut feeling is that Damien is a lot better than the loss to Los Altos indicates, I think the Los Altos loss was just a great job & gameplan by the Defensive Coordinator at Los Altos & a great night of execution by the players.Then again I've never seen Damien play, I'm just going on previous games that I've read on them, but to score 59 points on a Claremont
team that other good local schools have only been able to squeek by, or to just miss beating a St. John Bosco team that is currently undefeated[6&0] and who easily beat such big teams as Valencia [Who smoked Amat]& Corona Santiago[who easily beat Servite], well that just might be a clue as to what Damien can do if they get it together as a team. As for the second team in the valley I have no clue, cause every time a team seems to make a statement with a good game, they either loose or make a poor showing the next week. I think its a toss up between Los Altos, Glendora, West covina, Amat & Rowland for the #2 to #6 spots, put them in any order you want cause it will probably change the next week, if Amat beats St.Francis then I'll go with them at #2. As for #7 I'll go with Covina, but I think #8 Baldwin Park is very capable of beating Covina, they will surprise some people this year. #9 I'll go with Wilson #10 I'll go with Bonita.

No need to get personnel chum Im only spouting out the truth, your squad is very talented and honestly could have been ranked up with some of the best in the state, please try addressing the real issues here next time and lay off the insults. Rather than attacking serious criticisms, your program should demand more not just being considered as one of the local also rans. Really this is a compliment to your teams talent, if you folks would demand more you would probably see the results, it would and could be DAMIEN up on the top of most rankings, remember healing starts within us first we must be honest and admit our faults in order to repair them. In my mind damien is at least 2 touchdowns better than the next few opponents but if they win it will be by a few points and it will be the Qber scrambling thru the D, why because its an addiction to the staff to play this way. Sorry amigo but damien should be blowing these local teams out every season not having it close, this is why the insults start on your part " crickets in the backround".

On saturday morn when your victory is by 4 or less read some more and it will become clearer, as the weeks go on ,oh and i do expect a team with this much talent and size to be undefeated in league.

As for defense to stop the dyamic duo no problemo just spy this reciever as he drops back, let him throw just have the spy tackle him every time, make him put the ball in the air the staff doesnt like to do that, acuracy is Glendoras friend here.

You see friend I didnt attack your education or your grammar, Im actually very helpfull later on in the season you will begin to appreciate my wisdom, and maybe search for it. As for the Qber thing over at glendora "jeckle and hyde" too bad the older kid right now is sitting in class saying in his head if I make a mistake they are ready to go with the other kid, this will cause him to play to not make a mistake rather than to win and this usually sets one up for mistakes, cant blame the kids here on this one einstein.

Well maybe im addressing a grammer teacher and not a true football student hopefully youve learned a bit by reading, if any thing you can be a bit more objective next time, but thank you I have really started to clean up my grammer felix.

Greetings!

I'm Mike the Clone and you are not.

Plaid Man I think what Uncle Buck is saying is Pasqie is messing with his continuity at the QB spot AGAIN! Now way should Crookie have been rotated out or vice versa. How the hell to expect do you expect to be in any type of groove with B.S. like that going on into league play.

Oh well I'm told I don't know what I'm talking about so what do I know.

Now pass me that salad so I can get into my big butt into my seat. But in the mean time I have to go catch up on my football schooling from some damn high school in the sticks......errrrr Riverside.I've heard they have some D-1 breeding going on out there.

I'm out!

Damien vs Glendora

Playing defense this Friday is going to be every defensive player's dream come true! Glendora's tough runners and second half heroics pose a great challenge for Hile and Co.

Playing defense for Glendora and trying to deal with Mendrun, Echardise, Pertusati, Marine, and Co. is going to be no slouch either.

What a great way to settle a cross town grudge match. Time to D UP!

Bleedblungold-

Did they teach you anything other than football at Amat? How about a "sentence", a "paragragh" or at least some sort of punctuation. I've seen more coherent sentences from my pre-K students. Damien vs. Bosco, chaci? Never happened. Dude this is a blog in the year 2006 and not the Lazerium @ Griffith Park circa 1976. Bad acid trip and all!

As far as the slaps in the the face comments, let's not bring back your childhood trauma. Fair is the Los Altos D-coordinator and HE was responsible for the DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN. The SJB moral victory was just that, tough to swallow but hopefully a catalyst for great things for the Damien team. i.e. Rallying cry/point! Okay think 'Remember the Alamo'! In all seriousness Damien should be 5-0. Of all the 1 and 2 lose teams they were the closest to being 5-0. Anyone disagree with that assessment?

As far as Gano dominating the local scence, no offense to Gano and Los Altos but two of the last three games against Damien have been CLOSE! And last year Damien ate them up! While Amat smoked Damien completely a couple of weeks later! LA is 0-3 vs Amat and Damien is 4-19-1 vs Amat! Sorry friend but that's recent history not some time warped fantasy.

Hey you're online. Look it up and then in the immortal words of Robert Plant, "Ramble on!"

Not quite sure of all you were sayin' there Buck, but don't worry, Crookie is all Damien is going to see. The QB rotation was most likely to give the Soph. some experience in a non-league game that really didn't mean much for playoffs. Helps for next year and the "what ifs" for this year. I was just concerned that it might cost us a game against a solid opponent with some valley pride on the line. Fortunatly it worked out and he got the reps too. However, Crook actually hit his target more often than he has all year, so that's encouraging also. Fr. kicker also seems to be gaining confidence. Now that vaunted "D" needs to step back up and play with the consistant dominance that it did in the first 3 weeks...I think they will, and I think the BIG GAME will be HUGE (as will the Tarten Crowd be).

Easy to see by the comments many are ignoring the obvious, calling Damiens win a moral victory is slapping that team in the face come on spanky thats one hell of an effort by damien and st john bosco is way up there in the rankings, well i cant tell if you are a glendora homer or rowland homer, but in any event glendora had a tough game and now will have to play a good team after a battle and now we shall see how solid your squad is. No need to comment on a game ( bosco vs damien) that you werent at chachi, as for south hills being # 3 no doubt about it south hills has that Loyola mistique about it, last year cubs are 6-4 and beat down Esperanza in one hell of a finals game and something about that south hills squad says look out were just getting started, I mean Los Altos is a loaded team and tough, and it took them all 48 minutes to beat south hills.
As for the Damien homer who says that coach fair beat Damien is just another slap to another fine squad of players, all the pictures and videos I saw regarding the game show coach fair on the sidelines and wearing street clothes, maybe he played the second half ? if you want to be respected as a quality program and one with class you must also show respect to others rimshot, the stats from that game say that Castanada threw for over 200 and 2 T D s, also say foss had two TD catches and over 140 yds, while Mendrun passed for 74 yds, and the reciever had an eye popping 34 yds recieving, and unless its a conspiracy oswald those kids plain out beat your dynamic duo, its Ok they are still the greatest ever, just not that night. As for glendora beating Damien possibly, but until it happens lets not fantisize, apparently you are stuck in the div I div II trap again that doesnt matter anymore Homboy, its all about strength of schedule these days, and how well you recouperate or stay healthy thru the season week in and out, saying one player was healthy or not is a part of the game just as an interception or a blocked field goal, thats the way the coaches really see it injuries are very much like special teams just with less control.
Here is a perfect example lets say that Damiens Qber finally gets taken out, is that bad luck or risky coaching, hey every time he runs he builds odds he is going to go down, the more times the greater the odds, instead try building a real passing game with more recievers and a real running game to go with that offense and youve got something there, oh it helps if 50 % of the time the ball is on target, as for who beats who the players still have to execute, looking at these areas Damien could have possibly been one of the best teams in the state this season too bad no one else sees it this way. , one must pass to be a decent Qber or else your just a reciever out of position.

As for the other schools longing for glory days im sure all the coaches are great dads and fathers but lets get real now friend, the amat coaches are no longer in the days when a kids only shot at getting a big time look was at one of the private schools, these days the schools like Los altos and the south hills and the charter oaks are a safer bet to not only get to play and possibly be playing into the holidays, this means more exposure, as I see it about 10 years ago things began to change in this side of the valley thats about the same time Gano took over at Los Altos, and as long as he is there im afraid he will continue to dominate the coaching scene, and thats about the same time Amat stopped winning titles, well theres more to it than just that but it sure is kind of ironic.

Damien has to be #1, because at Glendora they can't even decide on a QB going into the 6th game of the year. I don't like what I am hearing. Last week they alternated QB's and grumblings have it their gonna do it again this week for some reason. The silence in the stands last week was deafening with no one understanding whats going on. The passing game has improved every week to open up the running game and they have become a little more balanced attack. If I was Crook I would be pissed, they did not give him very many snaps last year and now they are splitting time. The team is 4-1, if they had a kicker they would be 5-0, I did not see them changing kickers. Glendora has to pick a QB, weather it's Crook or the sophomore kid to give themselves a chance to get in a groove. I can't see Glendora being ranked any higher than #3 with so much confusion on the field. Glendora has to put 4 quarters of solid football together this week or this will be as high as they go. Since we are playing Damien, THIS IS THE WORD OF THE BUCK, GLENDORA HEAR MY PRAYERS. A little religous lingo for ya.

Aram...lots will transpire this week...ie..who won? and who lost?...additionally, bloggers will be voicing their opinions as to who is the best in the SGV. With this said, GT seems to like the underdog ratings you commonly offer and in return it has motivated our team in a way that I can't explain. Yes, the 4 wins and 1 loss were ugly but they still amounted to a successful end (even with the one loss). So, don't break stride by attempting to rate GT above those programs that need those ratings to motivate thier own teams. We all know what our program is about and I truely believe that most will recognize what it means to be Tartan come Saturday morning. So, make sure you put us at the bottom of your weekly rating list because we not only like it we are experienced when it comes to digging out of deep holes. Go GT!

yup south hills deserves to be in top 3 after their courageous effort against rancho (tried to w it with 2 pt conv) 20-21 and west covina didnt fire **** being shut out 0-20 by them cougars.....bring on the san antonio league!!

go dawgs!!!

Bleedbluingold that blog hit it right on the head .It also sounds like you put your time in and should be considered a veteran of H.S. sports.It also sounds like you are a LANCER so am I brother.First let me address the first paragraph of your blog.I think you really hit it in the head.I live in the west-valley and am a supporter of MONROVIA, and like you said they could play.I love the remark about "the BIG lineman"being one a time ago.As for our LANCERS it seems were missing all of the little things that used to make us a powerhouse.Family,Loyalty,and Tradition.I hope Mark suceeds he's a very good guy and athlete. Just aren't quite sure on supporting cast,no offense guys but you are all 28-30yrs of age.That dosn't mean you don't now your stuff but there are no good salty coaches to help you guys.Coach Salter was raised by one of the all time greats,Coach Parades,we had a great staff Rodgers,Hagerty,Corrales,Martinez and can't forget SPARKY,those guys were veterans.I hope we can get things on track asap.Thanks for the 5 ranking and Fight On Lancers

if charter oak beats west co and los altos back to back where does that put them

Plaid man makes a good point,

CalPreps ranks Glendora #99 in a power rating for the state (higher than any other SGV team). Damien doesn't appear until #143.

If Amat beats St. Francis are they #1?
If Glendora beats Damien are they #1?
If Damien beats Glendora are they #1?
Maybe.

But when Div 6 Rowland loses to Div II Glendora by one point and now Glendora is # 1 or 2? That doesn't make any sense! Damien's best game was a moral victory vs. SJB. When they beat Chino Hills and Glendora then they're #1. And this CAN happen but hasn't. How can Damien claim the top spot when a Div 6 LA team beats a Div II Damien team by 2? All the rankings will mean more in a couple of weeks. This is just "stirring the pot" is all.

How would the SGV WEST top 3 vs. the SGV EAST top 3 sound? Any opinions? That would be a more substantial debate. Best games this Friday DHS vs. GHS and St. Francis vs. Amat! Let's get it on!!!

Great game, probably the best local game this year, maybe, or at least until Chino Hills comes to SGV!

I see the game this way. This year the teams have played well at times and over there heads at other times. Haven't see Chavez at Bonita but Mendrun and that Mc D kid sure are tough! SGV Player of the Year past and present!

I believe this game will come down to a battle of coaching. Morrison vs. Pasquerella? No , I think it comes down to game time adjustments made by the position coaches (on the sidelines) and the coordinators (offense/defense) up in the "bird". That's were the chessmatch of big games is won or lost!

If Damien wins, and I think they should,D Coor, Coach Carroll deserves the "game ball"!

After seeing Glendora vs. Charter Oak and Damien vs. Charter Oak, in person,the only way Glendora wins is if they run for 300 plus yards on the gound. I also don't see Glendora's DBs stopping Mendrun&Co. but than I didn't see LA D-Coor. Coach Fair doing it either. Both coaches I'm sure are making their game plans preparations. Damien's bye week and ability to SEE GHS vs. Rowland will surely be an advantage for the Spartans. Tough to see Damien lose at home. Score 42-35 Too much offense! But for who?

Now lets get honest here, in order to put damien ahead of any one we must first consider, who they have played and how they have fared, must address the loss to los altos first, as many see it 6 out of 10 times los altos beats Damien, and we must look at strength of schedule here, as the rest of the football world does, as noted in cal preps and max preps, both los altos and damien have played some brutal preseason schedules,(bishop amat noted here) and this does matter more, "wins over quality opponents", not over little sisters of the poor, in many circles of honest football talk this is the way it goes down # 1tie Los Altos/Damien, # 3 glendora, #4 west covina #5 rowland #6 bishop amat #7 covina, #8 baldwin park #9 south hills #10 tie charter oak and bonita, sorry traditionally st francis and monrovia arent included in our poll, but if they were, st francis is #1 and monrovia is #5 if you are a homer to a specific team then you wont agree, but hey we cant only look at wins and loses we need to look at who we played and who we lost against, case in point undefeated bonita, need I say more, there is no one screaming for them to be #1. Truthfully it is highly unlikely that anyone else would have beaten st john bosco, mater dai or st francis. Second we need to look at how weak a teams schedule was before they actually played a quality opponent, case in point Damien plays st john bosco before Los Altos, Los Altos beats Damien and is beaten up before st francis, West covna comes out of the gate with mater dei before monrovia and rancho, here is the answer to everyones arguement concerning div I and II and IV , X and so on, the difference is how many quality games a team can play before they are too beat down to play at a good level, no one can say they have a better passer than castanada at Los Altos or a better all around athelete than mendrun at damien, or a better tight end than rodriquez at los al or wallace at west covina, if davis were at bishop or loyola he would be the starter,(dont believe me ask your coach, if he says no then hes not truthfull, ask cal oregon, washington etc) the difference between div I and IV is the amount of quality back ups at key positions and on both O and D lines. Guisie hurt at B/A if he were at covina or bonita he is close to 1000 yds and ready for league, why say this jasper, because a team with a very weak schedule hasnt been tested or hasnt been banged up against 250 to 300 lb defensive line men, believe me there is a difference between a 165 lb L/B and getting tackled by a 215 lb L/B if you disagree not only are you a homer but you probably never seen the field rudy. The same is true for harris if he were at Bishop or Los Altos or even Damien he is at the top 5 in the country, dont smirk at damien look at the kid at boise.
The truly Amat faithfull will say well then if we beat st francis then we should be #1 probably so, and this would be living in the now not in the very distant past, these kids and coaches need to stand on thier own not on the backs of minor, mccutchen and the coaches not on paredes and salter and so on, as for the rest of the teams we shall see how we fare this week, and if your head is still hurting after the truth try matching your teams roster against one of the teams Damien or Los al or west co lost to and then do the research instead of just saying were the best were going to state, I mean many of you sound like the little girl from remember the titans, running a touchdown 45 yards on a broken play against mountain view is not the same as doing it against mater dai or st john bosco, im sorry curly its just not, throwing about 10 touchdowns against quality opponents is very difficult and probably a lot easier against swamp high and our lady of the worthless miracle, I mean a pick at D/B against a kid who closes his eyes before he throws isnt the same if you dont agree then you need to get sober, just kidding knuckles, but as the saying goes to be the best we need to play the best, read the daily news once, you will notice two different rankings one for small schools and one for large schools does this make any sence, hopefully all the die hards are getting the point so before you start typing your team is the best in the state, try researching, im not putting anyone down or joking at any school, ill leave that for the bufords and the pacos, im just looking at the facts, try it you might begin to learn something about the entire game and you might find out why your local school has no titles or why you allways loose in the first round. It really doesnt matter who is at what school or why, enough now with the B.S. league starts and in about 4 weeks these rankings wont matter much if your not playing past thanksgiving, hey maybe thats why they do matter to some people soo much.

My top 10 list just before league, its hard to decide #1 tho....

1. Glendora - Undefeated, see what happens against #3

2. Los Altos - Hard back to back losses, but has talent to win league

3. Damien - Easily be 5-0, great game coming up against #1

4. West Covina - Rough game vs Ayala, can do a lot better

5. Bonita - Undefeated and has momentum, see what happens in league

6. Rowland - Close loss to Glendora, but surprised many

7. Bishop Amat - Not sayin they can't beat the teams above, but still havent beaten anyone

8. Covina - Solid QB and team, see if they can continue to start winning

9. South Hills - Closer then people expected vs RC, mabye will pick it up some more

10. Baldwin Park - Best RB in the valley taking them to some wins

Now lets get honest here, in order to put damien ahead of any one we must first consider, who they have played and how they have fared, must address the loss to los altos first, as many see it 6 out of 10 times los altos beats Damien, and we must look at strength of schedule here, as the rest of the football world does, as noted in cal preps and max preps, both los altos and damien have played some brutal preseason schedules,(bishop amat noted here) and this does matter more, "wins over quality opponents", not over little sisters of the poor, in many circles of honest football talk this is the way it goes down # 1tie Los Altos/Damien, # 3 glendora, #4 west covina #5 rowland #6 bishop amat #7 covina, #8 baldwin park #9 south hills #10 tie charter oak and bonita, sorry traditionally st francis and monrovia arent included in our poll, but if they were, st francis is #1 and monrovia is #5 if you are a homer to a specific team then you wont agree, but hey we cant only look at wins and loses we need to look at who we played and who we lost against, case in point undefeated bonita, need I say more, there is no one screaming for them to be #1. Truthfully it is highly unlikely that anyone else would have beaten st john bosco, mater dai or st francis. Second we need to look at how weak a teams schedule was before they actually played a quality opponent, case in point Damien plays st john bosco before Los Altos, Los Altos beats Damien and is beaten up before st francis, West covna comes out of the gate with mater dei before monrovia and rancho, here is the answer to everyones arguement concerning div I and II and IV , X and so on, the difference is how many quality games a team can play before they are too beat down to play at a good level, no one can say they have a better passer than castanada at Los Altos or a better all around athelete than mendrun at damien, or a better tight end than rodriquez at los al or wallace at west covina, if davis were at bishop or loyola he would be the starter,(dont believe me ask your coach, if he says no then hes not truthfull, just ask cal oregon, washington etc) the difference between div I and IV is the amount of quality back ups at key positions and on both O and D lines. Guisie hurt at B/A if he were at covina or bonita he is close to 1000 yds and ready for league, why say this jasper, because a team with a very weak schedule hasnt been tested or hasnt been banged up against 250 to 300 lb defensive line men, believe me there is a difference between a 165 lb L/B and getting tackled by a 215 lb L/B if you disagree not only are you a homer but you probably never seen the field rudy. The same is true for harris if he were at Bishop or Los Altos or even Damien he is at the top 5 in the country, dont smirk at damien look at the kid at boise.
The truly Amat faithfull will say well then if we beat st francis then we should be # 1 probably so, and this would be living in the now not in the very distant past, these kids and coaches need to stand on thier own not on the backs of minor, mc cutchen and the coaches not on paredes and salter and so on, as for the rest of the teams we shall see how we fare this week, and if your head is still hurting after the truth try matching your teams roster against one of the teams Damien or Los al or west co lost to and then do the research instead of just saying were the best were going to state, I mean many of you sound like the little girl from remember the titans, running a touchdown 45 yards on a broken play against mountain view is not the same as doing it against mater dai or st john bosco, im sorry curly its just not, throwing about 10 touchdowns against quality opponents is very difficult and probably a lot easier against swamp high and our lady of the worthless miracle, I mean a pick at D/B against a kid who closes his eyes before he throws isnt the same as against one of the traditional powers, if you dont agree then you need to get sober, just kidding knuckles, but as the saying goes to be the best you need to play the best, read the daily news once, you will notice two different rankings one for small schools and one for large schools does this make any sence, hopefully all the die hards are getting the point so before you start typing your team is the best in the state, try researching, im not putting anyone down or making childish insults about players or joking at any school im just looking at the facts, try it you might begin to learn something about the entire game and you might find out why your local school has no titles or why you allways loose in the first round. It really doesnt matter who is at what school or why enough now with the B.S. league starts soon and in about 4 weeks these rankings wont matter much if your not playing past thanksgiving, hey maybe thats why they do matter to some people soo much.

hey aram, dont bother ranking teams because you will have to change it next week anyway lol,mike the clone i dont understand your takes when you ran the ball your team was all world but when rowland ran it was just because of miss tackles lol ok i guess rowland just sucks dude can you give any credit i guess not lets just put closer to this good luck to your team in league we both got tough games ahead.

I think the Tartans can beat Damien if they bring their "A-" game....Edmond is the best running back in the valley, Micheal Harris and co. included!He has got blazing speed and great juking ability.It should be a fun game to watch...I believe Glendora will win in a very close one and I think this game will be talked about for quite some time..

hey aram i think damien should be #1 cuz they play some hard ass teams and also like mendrum said "one second and one yard from being 5-0" so true. glendora is a good team but they havent been playing to there potential. they should be ranked #2. cant wait till fridays game #2 Glendora vs. #1 Damien. Game of the year in the SGV.

My Take,

My man you are brilliant. You are dealing with it, BUT we are not a good team right now. As for being ranked #1 no way. Sorry I'm just a realist maybe a good #3 ranked team if even that.

When we play Capo get whooped red flags go up. And teams like Rowland who is a good team just not as impressive as all the hype surrounding them was and keep it close gezz somethings going on. And worst yet we had to save our asses with a blocked field goal attempt. I me come on! We are a one dimensional team right now. We had numerous chances to blow them out. The first series we had against them should have be played like that the whole game. Our O-line spanked them up front. It was impressive to see!

Rowlands long runs were do too our inablity to make fundamentaly sound tackles.The last two weeks we made two good teams look like world beaters.And that should not have never of happened.We are better than what we are showing.

The Damien game will tell us a lot of this about this ball club.

Out!

Mike the Clone

Hey Aram, in my victory haze (relief?) after a big Tartan win over a tough Rowland foe (and remember folks, we beat them on their turf) I looked at the Trib. scoreboard (nice addition!) and wondered to myself just who you were going to vault to the top spot this week. Top teams loosing, Damien idle, we just knock of #2 on the road...I figured you just couldn't/wouldn't do it though(put us there). That's OK though because if Damien is #1 and we're #2 (or 3), that sets up Friday night just fine for us Kilts. We haven't played as good as we can yet so we probably don't deserve it. Not sure just what coach was doing in that game either rotating QB's and some 2nd unit guys getting more action on O. Must have been trying to hide some things from Damien or exploring some things for league or whatever, but I hope there's more & better to come. This team could be VERY good. For what it's worth, CalPreps has them rated higher than any other team in the valley, just ahead of W. Covina at #35 in the whole southern half of the state. Also tops in Sierra league with Damien a litte ways back in third...and strength of schedule seems to play a pretty big role in that ranking system. Anyway, a win over DHS and the Tartens will get what they deserve. Wins over 4 other top rated programs in the valley (& QB's) should cement them at the top this year and just about clinch a CIF berth. With Chino Hills the following week we'll know a whole lot about this team's season just 2 games into league. Bring your best Spartens, we expect nothing less than a great game!

does it really matter whos in the top ten, anyway you put it, its not going to be fair.But i will say this rowland is one missed fg from being 5-0 and glendora is one fg or 1 point from being undefeated so that has to mean something but it won't,look when it comes down to it a win is a win we play for W OR L get off the crap about easy schedules the kids dont make them anyway and some of these teams playin hard schedules got schooled anyway i mean los altos lost to a 1-3 team oh but they probably had injurys lol or the ball didnt have the right amount of air ok,so aram go ahead and post your top ten but be fair with some of these teams and i don't mean rowland i said it before and ill say it again we don't need the hype and we sure don't need the smack talk good luck to all in league and may everyone stay healthy.

thata boy aram

but lets all jump on the glendora band wagon because they play weak teama that play even weaker teams

Can't wait to see the "CLASH OF THE TITANS" this friday: Glendora vs Damien.

Who will win? Depends on which team Glendora brings to the Game. If they play their A game, Glendora can beat ANY team in the league. If they play like they have in the last two games, well.. Damien will win.

its tuff to pick because all of the top 10 teams have made some errors but if it was up to me I would go with West Covina they have way to much speed numbers 1,2,4,5,9,20 all run under a 4.3. they just need to stop making errors. I also like Los Altos they have a strong team and when the tuff gets going the going get tuff and thats this team. Also South Hills never count this school out because they know how to win when it counts.

AT,

True Re: victories with Michael Johnson in or out. But also consider, CO 's #1 QB was out most of the Damien game. No way to get ball to Michael Johnson. In the glendora Game, CO'S QB was in. Also, Glendora has had key players injured and sidelined since week #1.

Also, "Rank This" forgot to mention Rowland's lost to Glendora. Rowland is a 4 - 1 record team.

How can you overlook Glendora's record for Damien's in your quest for #1 team?

Why not put them both at #1...certainly this will help promote the big showdown this Friday!

Glendora beat Charter Oak (without Michael Johnson), 14-7. Needed a last minute drive to do it.

Damien beat Charter Oak (with Michael Johnson), 25-9 ... not that close.

I've seen both teams, and I think Damien is simply better. I agree that both teams have claims.

How do you consider Damien with a 3-2 record the #1 team for the Trib ranking when other teams post a better record with wins against top performing teams?

Lets look at Damien wins:
Poly Riverside (2 & 3 record)
Claremont (2 & 3 record)
Charter Oak (2 and 3 record)

Lets compare this with Glendora wins:
Covina (4 and 1 record)only loss to Glendora
Duarte (3-2 record) loses to Glendora and Monrovia
Charter Oak (2 and 3 record)

Glendora would be 5 and 0 today if not for one blocked PAT.

I can go on and on with other top performing teams which deserve your attention as well.

Here's how I would rank SGV teams:

Los Altos
Glendora
Covina
Rowland
Damien
West Covina
South Hills
Baldwin Park
Charter Oak
Monrovia

1. Los Altos(They beat Damien and are still very talented despite the loss)
2. Glendora(Best rsuhing attack and coahcing in the Valley)
3. Damien(So much talent,so much heart-break)
4. Monrovia(James Davis is one of the top backs in the Valley)
5. West Covina(Monrovia had them beat, and they almost lost to ?AYALA?)

i think that would be a good idea

Damien
West Co
Glendora

should 1,2,3

west covina
south hills
damain
los altos
glendora
charter oak
rowland
covina
BP
and last would be crying AMAT