GO COVINA PLAY SAME GOOD FEETBALL ON FRIDAY!
GOOOOOOOOOOO COVINA!!!!!!!! BIG RED

Hey T-Bone,

Or may I just call you Bonehead...I actually did hear about that Water Boy opening...because your kid actually HAD that job, but he screwed that one up too...oh well...and if you're gonna bring smack...bring some GAME please...

Hey t-bonehead, thank you for your intellectual comment. However I think you meant assistant waterboy as you or your son surely have a stranglehold on 1st string watergirl. Oh yeah, see you at the game, that is IF you can find it!

go-covina...it's at 7:30. You can verify that from the lead post to this section by Aram.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Can you tell me what time the Covina Game is? Is it 7:00 or 7:30?

miss cresbone,your funny ,I hear L.A is looking for a waterboy.

Big Daddy and Bill Stevens

What about a special task force made up of interested parents or coaches in the VVL and maybe other leagues to address the issues?

Prep Fan had a good suggestion, and maybe those leagues or some of the parents will help too!

Biil, thank you for starting the dialog. We all need to be united on this!

Aram, we need your help to! Keep SGV football at home and not the Central Coast!

Big Daddy

Thank you! At this point, we have to be pro active and try to make a difference!

This is an issue where we need to take our competitive forces and demand change!

The country sent a message loud and clear to Washington, so I am hopeful, we can accomplish this!

Please forward all responses back on the blog, so everyone interested is in the know!

Thanks Again

Bill,
When CIF did this league realinement I was one of the first one to fire off e-mails and a few letters to CIF. We have to wait 2 years and follow the rules in the book was the responce I got. I will be jumping up and down the end of the year and all of next to make sure that we get a far shake. We got screwed and we have to deal with it right now. I agree to drive 4-5 hours to play a game is nuts. I will be sending e-mail and getting my friends and players families to do the same, so that in the future all the schools get a far shake. I looked at the leagues and team we played last year in CIF. I am sure that if they left us playing those teams we (Covina) would crush them. I will help in anyway I can.

Prep League Fan, 74 Colt, Get Real CIF, Big Daddy and anyone else that wants to HELP!

I would have to agree with that the grouping for the Northwest region could be changed as suggested by Prep League Fan. Or if that doesn’t work, maybe something else? They need to bring in some professional help to fix it.

However, it’s a REAL bureaucratic mess as outlined in the attached emails. Scroll down to the bottom and read upward!

I strongly believe everyone involved should begin to email CIF to get something done! Our kids do derserve better!

Staying the course doesn't fix the problems and the excuses are endless!

ATTACHEMENTS BELOW

To: "Bill Stevens"
Subject: Re: Fwd: Northwest Region
From: robw@cifss.org Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 07:40:10 +0000

Mr. Stevens,

You have made your point very clear. You should know that our govenqnce is based on the fact that the rules and processes I described to you
are made entirely by our member schools through the C.I.F. Southern Section Council of leagues. They have every mechanism available to them
to change leaguing procedures and the Playoff Groupings process. Until they do, we will have to work with what we have.

Sincerely,

Rob
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Stevens
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:03:44
To:Rob Wigod
Cc:jims@cifss.org
Subject: Re: Fwd: Northwest Region

Dear Mr. Wigod:

Thank you for your response! I realize the complexity of the situation, but feel more can be done and should be considered ASAP.

Furthermore, I don’t agree that any high school team in any sport should have to drive 10+ hour’s roundtrip on a bus to play a game. San
Dimas made the right decision based upon the distance that they had to go and the distance was the problem. Other schools this week are going to face the same geographical problem. IE: St Joseph having to come from
Santa Maria to La Verne.

No Coach on your advisory committee should expect a team to travel 4+ hours, play a football game, get back on the bus, stop and eat and get back home at 3:30am in one day! This truly is ridiculous and not a very sensible solution.

The simply fact that CIF is the governing body should take the lead on hiring a top rated logistical and consulting firm to help fix the
geography problem(s). You have basically three areas of consideration; geography, enrollment and the competitive nature of the game. With 65
leagues, maybe there is a better way.

I truly feel sorry for the families, friends, moms, dad’s that can’t get off work early enough to make a 5 hour trip to see their sons game!
Maybe some employers understand, but there are some out there that don’t. No parent should miss the opportunity to see their son/daughter
play a game due to logically problems.

I would challenge you to “NOT STAY THE COURSE� and get this region re-evaluated!

Rob Wigod wrote:
Mr. Stevens,
I am the football administrator in the C.I.,F. Southern Section so Dr. Staunton forwarded your communication to me. I will try and respond to your questions in the order you posed them.

1) Playoff Groupings, meaning placing leagues in divisions, takes place every two years. The entire process is explained in the C.I.F Southern Section Blue Book, our Constitution and By-Laws, in Rule 3219 on page 241. Our Blue Book is available online at www.cifss.org: , if you would like to
see it. That process starts after schools form leagues. Then, we take recommendations from each
league on where they think their league should be placed in each sport they offer. Once we get those recommendations, it is up to our staff to formulate prospective divisions in the sports our staff members administrate. In football, once I got the recommendations from the leagues, I consulted with our Football Coaches Advisory
Committee members, who come from all divisions and all geographic areas of our section, on three occasions over a period of 6 months. In those meetings, we worked together to try and form divisions for the next 2 years, using the criteria of enrollment, geography and competitive equity. For your information, Mr. Darryl Thomas, Head Football Coach at Covina High School, from the Valle Vista League, has been a member of the Football Coaches Advisory Committee for several years and actively participated in this process. We have the task of formulating 13 divisions, and over that 6 months we worked together to create the current Northwest Division, along with the others.

2) The criteria listed above is applied to our recommendations. The criteria are to be weighed equally. In formulating divisions, we try to do
so. I would submit to you that it is virtually impossible to fit 65 leagues into 13 divisions that are all equal, in terms of enrollment,
geography and competitive equity. In the Valle Vista League's case, they were the second largest enrollment league in the Northwest
Division with an average enrollment of 1,724 students among their schools. The Pioneer League was the largest with an average of
1,725 students. In terms of competitive equity, the Del Rey, Los Padres and Pioneer Leagues were in the former Division X. They were all
fairly competitive there as they won 10, 9 and 12 playoff games over the last 4 years, so they stayed together. The Tri-Valley League was
in the former Division XI, where they had been dominant, so they moved up a division. The Valle Vista League had been in the former Division IX, had not won a championship over the past 4 years in that division and had won 6 playoff games over the past 4 years, making them one of the weaker leagues in that division.
Therefore, it was decided to drop them down one division to the current one they are in. The Northwest Division became three former Division
X leagues, a weaker Division IX and a strong Division XI. I would agree with you that in the area of geography, this division is not composed of leagues close together. However, as I mentioned, trying to formulate 13 divisions where all three criteria apply is extremely difficult, if not impossible. So, in the Northwest Division's case, with the
support of the Football Coaches Advisory Committee, two of the criteria: enrollment and competitive equity, were a good fit, while geography may not have been. Coaches on this committee, and others I have spoken to, have expressed a strong feeling that they would rather travel to play competitive games than be sent close to home where they were not competitive.

3) Certainly, expenditures are considered, but in football, we pay $1.75 per mile for bus transportation for schools. We also approve
meal expenses for a traveling party of 44, for schools that go 140 round trip miles or more. Finally, each school receives 25% of the net
revenues from every playoff game they participate in. While we know it can be expensive for schools to travel, we do try and offset those expenses. Whether a school chooses to use those funds for band, cheer, etc. is their choice. They do receive money from every
playoff game and it is up to them how they wish to spend it.

4) Finally, missing school is never something we hope will take place. A trip from San Dimas to Morro Bay, as cited, is very rare. In fact, of
the 104 games played in the first round this year,San Dimas is the only school that chose to go the night before. I submit to you, even
with a five hour bus trip, a school could leave at 10:00 a.m., stop for lunch and still be at their game site by 4:00 p.m., plenty
of time before kick-off. San Dimas did not want to do that, so we approved additional expense money for them to stay overnight and additional meal money, since their trip became oevr 2 days. If it was just about money, we would have not approved their lodging and additional meal
expense. The decision to miss two days of school was theirs, not ours.

I hope that answers your questions. If you have any further concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Rob

b=pT8huKImIKvF3CDDJvHglFYF9QsYZTAG1q0mP4sHPDnn51zEdt44h+1CldraZ+Cb0PFvQxvnQWi6YXs1Dk4DiG7WgMUQF260wx36vVza1zf4sQ+5WOmMJ9keChnK4tnZYS0BB9q/lBzlAQ17qMJBGDx2BN9K462DNO1i8wK3X8c=
;
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:08:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Bill Stevens
Subject: Northwest Region
To: jims@cifss.org

Dear Mr, Staunton:

Please address the following questions regarding the Northwest Region:

1. How does the Valley Vista League gets put into the Northwest region for the CIF playoffs?
2.What was the geographical thought process for teams, parents, cheerleaders, and fans having to travel so far?
3.Was the expenditures considered during the re-alignment?
4.Was the fact that student/athletes had to miss two days of school considered?

GuessFreakinwho,

Yes we are rebuilding at Amat but this coming year we will get to CIF. Your boy played that freshman year with us and was outstanding with us winning league against those teams that are now playing in the trinity league.. Well as you know they will all be seniors this next season and most all of those players are still there with the exception of two players whom went over to Los Altos....You guys never left on bad terms, and of course it would be great to see Johnny Crespo return to Amat to run with Wagner and McBride again. The doors open but if your decision is to stick it out there at CO great, the best of luck to your son and the Chargers. Happy Thanksgiving and good luck vs So. Hills.

Get Real CIF

I don't know how you can say the leagues do not have anything to do with the playoff structure, they do not draw leagues out of a hat to determine groupings.

Having said that I absolutely agree with you that CIF screwed over the Valle Vista League with this playoff grouping. I mentioned the geographic considerations because that is what CIF says they do. They would readily admit that competitive groupings trump geography however.

By either measuring stick the VVL should not be happy. Covina is fielding one of the best teams it could possibly field and will have to beat a top ten team in the country to win CIF.

I mentioned this in an earlier thread but I think that a grouping of the VVL, Mission Valley League, Rio Hondo League, Montview League, and Del Rio League would be very competitive year in and year out, create great games for local bragging rights, and not involve any 5 hour bus trips.

74-Colt,
I have researched alot of St Joes games also. They run the ball and thats about it. They do have a spread offence, but we have way to much speed for them. Nordhoff had the in a close game and held Sua to 43 yrds. Nordhoff fumbled on their 30 and thats how St Joe beat them. WE can stop the run. St. Joe is in trouble if they can not run the ball. Colts defence has not gottin to much coverage. That is a good thing. They are good. They have the ability to get to the QB, stop RB in the back field and don't give the big play. JJ has been putting the smack down on receivers lately. The COLT D will be the factor in Fridays Game. 74-Colt no need to worry , we got this!

This is a reply to Blog name signed "Who Cares"...you couldn't have picked a better name for yourself...nobody really cares about your comments or whining about us transferring from Amat other than me this time because you're baggin on my kid...and it's Crespo, not Cresbone...it's spelled really, not relly, and it's bottle not bottel...you're not only illiterate, just one of the other dime a dozen guys with a wanna be loud voice that never gets anything done.

So you say you're going to pay your 8.00 to see who loses between Charter Oak and South Hills...and it's because your team is sitting on their collective ass this weekend?

Man, I still have SOME friends at Amat so I don't want this to sound directed at them but could you be one of the frustrated Amat fans living in the past??...McCutcheon, Bienemy, or Pat Haden aren't walking in those doors anytime soon...it's over dude...forever probably. You're the Notre Dame of High School Ball...they're all still waiting for the "Four Horsemen" too...

Win or lose, let me help you out a little here, "Cresbone" stays at Charter Oak. It was, is and will be our home. Win or lose we don't go to Lost Altos, Glendorka or did you say Ganesha?? Maybe YOUR kid should go there and MAYBE get some P.T., what do you think...maybe you can finally have to wash that damn uniform for once...or are you on the Booster Club therefore he gets 10 plays minimum...

When he was at Amat, we won league, player of the year, etc.,if we were frontrunners, like you're calling us, we would have been stupid to leave. Get your facts straight before you comment...anyways "Who Cares" as you call yourself...we'll take your 8 bucks or hell just buy yourself a box of tissues and stay home...you probably don't know football anyway...soccer Dad...or like we Football guys call it...Kickball.

Last but not least... to blogger "Newreader", my daughter also transferred into Charter Oak from South Hills because WE MOVED INTO CHARTER OAK...GET IT? You're not even worth more than a paragraph...

If you guys have not listened to this weeks 2 min drills you really need to. All of them. AT & Regg were having some fun this week.

Prep League Fan & Valley Insider

The leagues have nothing to do with the playoff picture.

CIF has made a MONSTER mistake in grouping the Northwest Region. It makes absolutely no sense from a competitive, financial, or geographic standpoint.

How can anyone at CIF tell us that there was geographical consideration with this grouping! It’s the worst management decision I've heard of since Enron!

It's been 5 years since South Hills was moved from the Valle Vista league to the newly formed San Antonio League. The move from Division IX to Division VII was made with the intent to try and level the playing field, matching up schools with similar enrollment numbers.

If I remember right, South Hills had finally won the CIF title in their final year before leaving Division IX. The move up to Division VII had me wondering if it would be another 25 years before championships. Boy, was I wrong. The next 4 years in Division VII (supposedly a tougher division) yielded 4 straight CIF final appearances, with South Hills winning 3 of them and losing 1 to West Covina.

I thought the level of play and quality of competition from the Division IX schools (Northview, Covina, Ganesha and San Dimas (at times) were far more superior than what we've been facing in Division VII the last 4 years. It was a no brainer that they would again be on the move this year. Hopefully, we've finally found our home in the Southwest Division.

Over the last 25 years, I've missed only a handful of South Hills games. No matter when or where, I'm there. I always enjoyed the games against the Colts or Vikings, remembering times when each school enjoyed success over each other.

As a class of '83 SHHS alumn, this next game is at our house and I fully expect us to defend it..

South Hills 31 Charter Oak 17

B.D...have spent the last couple of hours researching St. Josephs games. I definitely feel more confident now then i did earlier. Last week they were ahead 7-0 early in the second quarter and blocked a Torrance punt which put them on the 17. Next play Sua scored. Torrance fumbled away the ball deep in their own territory 5 times and S.J. Recovered. Torrance handed them the game in every way that they could.

This Sua kid is good but he ain't no Aaron Harris. And if the Colts can handle Harris...well....

Read this and would just like to pass it along.

"A football player is a wonderful creature -- you can criticize him, but you can't discourage him. You can defeat his team, but you can't make him quit. You can get him out of the game, but you can't get him out of football. Might as well admit it -- be you alumnus, coach or fan -- he is your personal representative on the field, your symbol of fair and hard play.

"He may not be an All-American, but he is an example of the American way. He is judged, not for his race, nor his religion, but by the democratic yardstick of how well he blocks, tackles and sacrifices individual glory for the overall success of the team.

"He is a hard-working, untiring determined kid doing the very best he can for his school or college. And when you come out of a stadium, grousing and feeling upset your team has lost, he can make you feel mightily ashamed with two sincerely spoken words -- "we tried."

Remember..this is just a game. What matters MOST this week are the friends and family who you share this Holiday with.

74-Colt, that was a funny. Thanks for the laugh. My son tells me that St. Joe has this big 6.0 200 lbs running back. Sua is his name, #25. they run the ball and thats pretty much all they do. Not much size and speed at the receiver position. If they kick it to JJ or McNair St Joe may be in serious trouble. I am really looking forward to this game. I just want to see how the Colts handle a back that size.

B.P. is behind C-TOWN all the way. I hope you guys work that st joes team bad. Best of luck to you guys and represent the VVL and the SGV to the fullest.

Big Daddy..could not have said it better myself. I think from now I know how to tell when it's Fall...Covina is in the playoffs and the nuts are falling from the trees....

Falcons 37- Santa Clara 14

COvina will not win. They lose because they refuse to play up consistantly in the pre-season. They rather step on schools that can't compete with the talent. If they do win this week they will not win next week. I do hope they will win, but it will not happen until they play better teams (not just Glendora).

R-E-S-P-E-C-T,

YOU ARE WAY OFF BASE. I being a Covina Fan just want people to quit being so critical of our program. Look at the blogs, instead of being supportive, people are tearing down the Colts. They are talking about old crap that doesn't even matter today. We don't need acceptacne from anybody. The team has done there job so far. They are in the playoffs and hopefully can get to the championship. We are happy and proud of our team. The minute we have something good to say here comes some nut with a stupid comment. I understand freedom of speech and every body has an opinion. Realistly some of the negitive crap is getting old. If yall can't be happy for Covina or any other school in the area, don't post anything. Acceptance, we don't need it! Respect, we have it! Now we are going to run with both. For many of you no matter how well the Colts do you still won't be happy. For many of you, I know that you will be happy to see Covina fall flat on there face. Like I said, the boys have put in there hard work and time. They still have to go out and play. They have done a great job so far and I hope they continue to play great. It's true what they say, the minute you have a little success,someone is always trying to bring you down.

Regarding the re-leaguing issue, I wish everyone who comments would please get the information correct. There are a lot of variables that go into placing teams into the appropriate league. IT'S NOT JUST FOOTBALL. It is only one sport, of all sports played including girls', that factors into the decision. So it wasn't one person who had the influence on the issue, so back off the one person who you feel is responsible. If you only knew the logistics of the whole process.
It is a real shame that those of you who hear things 3rd or 4th hand tend to blow things out of proportion and rip others when you don't know the whole story. So stop with your lies and get on with your lives and be a supporter of which ever school you support and be done with it.

RESPECT - Respect is not something that can be demanded. It must be earned. No where have I seen anyone from the Covina fan base begging for respect. People that hate the colts will continue to do so with their own warped reasoning. No matter what the colts prove on the field. What I have seen ( from me included ) is when their is any kind of Negative, or BS posted about the colts we fire right back with our support. And will continue to do so. If you are talking about me wishing that we were all back in the same league as West Covina, South Hills and such I do wish that. Any team that does not play you can say whatever they want. It's different when they have to line up against you and go four quarters. The only way to find out who actually is the elite is for them all to play each other. Agreed? Until then it's just talk and we all know the price of that.

Until that happens it will continue to be the battles of " my school can whip your school ". Talk is talk...especially in a blog. I make my choices on who is the elite every Sat morning when I read the scores just like everyone else.

OK, now what i dont understand is why are all you Covina fans begging for acceptance from the same people who bash your program. Your whining..., Your team has had a great year and beat who has been put in front of them (the kids have no control over that, they play who they are told to play) Dont go looking for acceptance from the so called big boys and their legion of fans, just take it, i am not a Covina fan, but even i see that you need no OK from others to be considered elite for the year of 2006.

Can not see any logic in why the powers that be are picking Testicle Canyon over Damien. I think it's going to be the other way around..and by a blowout. Can't see that one even being close. If I'm wrong then I need to take up watching curling.....

I predict Damien by min. of 17.

I'm bummed also would like to have seen the Charter Oak/South Hills game. I going with Charter Oak on this one. Nothing against South Hills. I know the QB Chris Allen from Charter Oak. It will be a close game, 21-17. If South Hills win that would be good also. West Covina will have it's hands full. They should win 35-13. They have a tough team. I think that Los Altos will get past Foothill. Damien will show all the CIF nuts that they are one of the better teams in the area and should have been ranked.
I'm not to worried about St Joe. They like to run and thats most of ther offence. Covina has the ability to stop the run. The question is, what St Joe do after that. Covina will get off to a better start I'm sure. They will be ready. I know that Tre McNair will have a big day. I hope that he can get about 170 on the ground. In the end St Joe will not have the speed to keep up with Covina. One the the points go up Covina keeps rollin!

Bonita..oh fo sho! I'll be there and relive the friday night atmoshpere. Good luck to all them other play-off teams...Go out and push for your teams.

Big Daddy - from what I can remember Bonita High school has a pretty nice field. I know it's a nice school. Been trying to jog my memory of the last time I was at a game there and for the life of me can't remember ( they say at my age that memory is the second thing to go but I can't remember the first ). I do know that I have been there before.

So what's your take on the game and the other games going on this week?

Lets see if I'm following this. Each league and the schools that it contains gets together every so often and vote on proposed changes that may be brought up by the individual schools ? So for example if one certain school is a dominant powerhouse the other schools can vote them out? And if they are asked to leave who determines where their new home is, CIF? Whats from stopping a dominant team in one league to being the floormat in the league they are moved into?

My view on this is that I think neighbors should play neighbors. Keep it in the community. If they are so much better than you then you need to get better yourself. If you keep rearranging a league to suit yourself this year whats to say that next year or the next after that YOU are not the powerhouse in your league and facing the same situations from your counterparts. I remember ( all I have to fall back on for experience ) is that when we played for example South Hills or West Covina we KNEW they had a good team and it was like a measuring stick to how well we performed against them.
I know what I want carries as much weight with CIF as a scab on a flea... but I wish the leagues were set up like in the old days. Schools in the same cities played each other.

Thanks for the education on how this works from all that are chiming in.

CIF approves league structures, for the most part it does not determine them. CIF gives great deference to member institutions in approving leagues. This releaguing process is done every four years. The next releaguing will be for the 2010-2011 season. Essentially a committe looks over the proposed leagues and approves them. Their is an opportunity for comment and challenge by member institutions. Schools can change leagues in the intereim with the premission of the schools from the league they are leaving and the league they are going to.

It would not be possible for Covina alone to expel Bonita and South Hills from the VVL, but if the other schools in addition to Covina wanted them out and Pomona and Ganesha in, they could have made that proposal. CIF would have stepped in to determine league placement if the schools themselves could not agree on the newly proposed leagues. I am not sure exactly how all of this went down when SH and Bonita were removed from the VVL. Maybe it was amicable, maybe it was not.

As far as CIF playoff groupings. Those are set by a CIF commitee every two years, the next for the 2008-09 school year. In non state championship sports, CIF asseses the strength of an entire league and tries to place them in competetive groups with geographic considerations. Different sports from the same league could very well have different playoff groupings. For example, Prep League football plays other small private schools in what is the equivalent of Div XII. In tennis, the Prep League is in Division II and could face schools like Long Beach Poly. In state championship sports, playoff placement is based on school size and teams from the same league may end up in different playoff groupings. Schools are given a chance to challenge their placements at CIF meetings.

This was a major playoff realignment since it also coincided with league realignments. Looking at the football scores it is clear there are a few leagues that will be moved around during the next cycle.

Bleedsbluandgold is a imposter amat fan. He is speaking from both sides of his mouth...he is a Amat basker in disguise and trying to promote Los Altos indirectly.......man if you have to stoop that low get off the blog loser.

I too am confused as to who is the real Bleeds Blue and Gold........This guy is whacked then he is sensible.........I have called him on it...asking whom does he rep. CO, Walnut, St. Louis Rams?..never got the answer....he parades himself as a Bishop Amat follower but he loses it when you talk about Los Altos....I thought Los Altos colors were Red White and Blue???where is the gold?....He talks about Bishop Amat but loves Los Altos...he is confused and as I told him before he is colorblind.....will the real BB&G PLEASE STAND UP!!!!!

the crespos transferrring-that is not a new idea. when the daughter chrissie was at south hills she applied at st. lucys. when confronted both dad and chrissie lied. the next year she showed up at CO. dont be surprised to see jonny on the run soon. coach thomas was not responsible for the realignment changes. it was the administrators from local schools. walnut, northview, covina. remember the walnut principal was a part of cif-he was at the forefront of much of this. he also had many other followers on his side. NV and COV admin were also glad to see SH go. i guess if you can't beat them, it is easier to move them to another league than clean up your own school. quit knocking thomas, he does a great job at COV. as far as transfers...do people realize they need to be released from a district BEFORE they can be accepted by another school. quit blaming the school the athlete ends up at, start looking at thes chools the kids want out of.

Forgot this part...

I am pretty bummed that I won't get to watch South Hills and Charter Oak go at it. I think THAT is going to be a GREAT close match-up. My head and my heart has to go with South Hills on that one. If that games is not close I will be totally surprised.
I can not wait to see the write up from whomever on Saturday morning in the Trib about that game.

I'm just really interested on how the CIF does their alignments for sports. I really have no clue and some of these last posts have really got my interest spiked again. I always figured that each school has an input somehow and the CIF weeds through those inputs and pastes together leagues and divisions. I also figured that school size must play a part in those alignments somehow buy honestly have no clue. Would actually enjoy learning how this process is done. Been something I have wondered about for years. If anyone knows how this is done..PLEASE enlighten me. I will be mucho abligedo.

Now about St. Josephs. I'm sure that cost of putting the kids up for a night may have played into this decision. Maybe their school wasn't willing to fork out the $. Only one that knows the reason is St. Joseph. I think that having an extra day to practice/ go over films would have been nice for both the schools personally.

St. Joesph is like Covina in a lot of ways. When they are firing on all cylinders they can get the job done. They love to run the ball. They come out slow in the first quarter from what I see and Covina can not afford to have a slow first quarter like last week. They need to take it to them from the opening kick-off. I personally see this game as a toss up if St. Joseph is recouped from the bus ride. They have talent. I really believe that whoever wins it will be close. 7 points or less.
I think where Covina can get a good edge on them is in special teams. Their punt returns and kickoff returns have for the most part been minimal and if Covina can take advantage of that so much the better.

The main thing I think for Covina is to come out from the start ready to play. If we waste a quarter to get warmed up I think we will dig ourselves a whole. Hopefully this going back and forth from Friday to Saturday to Friday will light a fire under the colts and want to see St. Joseph have to go thru another 4 hour bus ride in the same day and know that it will be their last bus ride till next season. No matter what the outcome of Friday night I could not be a prouder colt fan.

Look

Don't cast all the stones at Thomas. When the MT Sac area releagued in 2001. There were several AD meetings to come up with proposals for league configuration. The old VVL was BP, SD, SH, COV,GAN, SV, NV, and BON. It took more than just Thomas to want BON and SH out. BON was dominant in everything and was a given to move. There are fifty some schools in the area and those PRINCIPALS voted for the releaguing. Now there were interesting dynamics at that meeting as there was one huge change involving South Hills and Baldwin Park. I think because SH was not thrilled, not sure though. Thomas did not vote at that meeting and his principal had one vote of 50 some and their league would have had 7 other votes of 50. I think it is far fetched to say Thomas was the reason for the leagues. Also the new divisions are voted on by a rep from every league at the CIF council meetings, of which COV was not the league rep. These realignments are proposed by committees made up of schools reps. Leagues can appeal if they are unhappy with new divisions, which VVL did, and it was soundly defeated by of other league reps at CIF meeting. There were like 10 appeals that were all defeated. So don't blame Thomas for where he is at, he probably had very little to do with it.

Hey Colt-74, I love you man, but let it go. Don't let these little things take you out of your game. You seem like a smart guy and keep doing what you do best. Support the Colts and support the other area teams. Come on man go back to having fun. These blogs you are posting are not you man!

Now, what is your take on the move by St Joe. I heard that they did agree to play on Saturday and then they chnaged ther mind late yesterday. What is the field like at Bonita, I have never been.

Aram,

Have you ever done a story on how CIF sets up leagues and divisions for sports? If not...how about one? I for one would love to know how this process is done. I know from some of the other blogs here that there have been a lot of questions as to why certain schools are grouped with others. For example..why private schools are up against public schools...why schools that are less than 5 miles apart don't play each other. How often are the alignments reevaluated and shuffled? Have always wondered what logic goes into these alignments.

If you have already done this in the past could you PLEASE direct me that story. I must have missed it.

I'm sure it would be interesting reading as to what actually goes into aligning leagues and divisions.

Wait...I missed this part.....
"Hey, football programs are at the mercy of CIF when it comes to realignment."

And since I'm sure that if CIF created an alignment that no other coaches but coach Thomas was comfortable with it wouldn't created an uproar and the rest of the coaches and schools would just keep quiet and go with the flow. I don't care how many negatives that coach Thomas had on someone I just can't see this happening. CIF would surely have to answer to someone..and I'm sure it's NOT coach Thomas.

I'm curious as to why you believe that coach Thomas has all this power to dictate over the VV league...and or CIF.

Would love for coach Thomas to jump in and chime in on this...

Well the Colts game is on Friday. St. Joe's seems a little nervous about playing Covina. I would have taken the Saturday game so I could have a day of rest. On the other hand St Joe might feel that they can walk over Covina. The are pretty much a running team. The Covina defense is tough against the run. I love defensive teams. Covina has great speed on defense and that will cause problems for St Joe. I think that the coach is pulling a bonehead move playing on Friday, but if they played on Saturday the result would be the same. The Colts Winning!

Just a note to all my fellow bloggers on this site. We love our kids and we love our teams. I no nothing about the past history of some of the area teams. It's History and that will never change. All of our teams are doing well and lets look to the future. Support our teams and let the past go. It won't change anything! Maybe down the road as all our programs grow, we will have a chance to play one another. Then and only then you can voice your opinion on who is the best. South Hills, West Covina, Charter Oak, Bishop Amat, and Los Altos yall are the best in yall leagues. Yall have enjoyed many years of success. Let the Colts enjoy there success also. You can't change the past but we can hope for change in the future. Let's enjoy the success of our teams right now! Have fun and let the old crap go!! Let's talk football now and at this moment. Not only am I a Colt fan but I am a football fan. All this bickering about the past is silly. Lets live for today! Have a great day!

Bracketology...let me get this straight. So..you're saying that Coach Thomas from little ol Covina High School went down to CIF and not only told them what league and division he wanted Covina in but WHO he wanted in that league? And he did this in a secret meeting that no other coaches knew about? And the CIF powers that be said OK coach Thomas..what ever you want! Seriously?

And after the meeting he gave the negatives to whomever he was blackmailing right?

So when CIF makes up leagues and divisions they ONLY person that has any say so is coach Thomas from little ol Covina? No other coaches and or schools have ANY input? That is just incredible!

Wow...Impressive. Thanks for uncovering this! I sure would love for Tribune to do a story on this!

Maybe Aram will take the ball and run with this...

The last post by "bleedsblungold" was complete gibberish! I felt like I was reading a translated post from another country. Your comments and sentences make no sense at all. If you are going to post on this site as “The Real bleedsblungold� (which we all know you are not!) then please try to articulate a little better. You sir are an IDIOT!

The reason why SH will never play CHS is that it was CHS that went behind the backs of not only SHHS, but Bonita HS as well, when it came time for releaguing in 2001, and made sure that those two schools were no longer going to be in the VVL. And that person that was at the forefront of that...no other than Darryl Thomas.

And it was quite a shame, because CIF was ready to move the VVL to Division 7 (and I know this for a fact), but when they changed the VVL and constructed a new league called the San Antonio League, they took the spot that was ready for VVL and kept the VVL in Division 9. So in a way, DT managed to negoiate himself out of playing against teams like Westminster, SEM, Arroyo and the rest of Division 7...and gave it to schools like SH and WC.

Hey, football programs are at the mercy of CIF when it comes to realignment. So SH, CO, LA has no say when it comes to teams they meet in the playoffs. CIF sets the division and the brackets and our teams come ready to play. If it's a against an Esperanza, Mater Dei, or Arroyo, SEM, Westminster, it doesn't matter. Teams like SH and WC have great coaching staffs and will put in the time to get their teams ready for the playoffs.

Look it, CHS has had a great run for the last two years. All the best in the playoffs, but the real football powers in the valley are at CO, LA, SH, BA and WC (in no particular order). And those schools get players to go to the next level in college football...and that is something that has not happened at CHS for years....and that is a fact.

Once again, good luck to all the locals this weekend, I'll say it again, a Thanksgiving feast for all to take it.

Bleeder? I'm sorry what are you talking about. I checked the thread and can not connect your comments to someone elses? What gives? Just asking.

Thanks. You going to the Pizza Blast?

the way i look at it, st joseph isnt just a pushover. they look pretty good to me. but....covina is better. why would the coach take a 4 hour bus ride then play a game? it would of made more sense to play saturday. now st joseph could of rested from its bus ride. but anyway. covina will march on to play oak park.
my prediction is
35-20
colts!!

I wanted to see 2 games this week.

Now I can't.

I hope St.Joseph's looses real bad for playing with the fans minds.

Mike Hartman (Coach of St.Joseph's) I heard you were a big baby. I hope someone tosses an egg at you on your way out after losing! you Bum!

I hope the Knights get trampled on by the Colts!!!!!!

GO McDonough!!!!!!!!!!!

well that goes for me also,was going to see the CO.vs SH but heck with that,hate them both,C-YA at bonita high,.......GO COLTS.....
COLTS 48
St.Joseph 7
you just watch and see

charter choke 7
south park 9

.............BOREING..........

That Sucks St. Joseph

Wanted to see two games this weekend!

ALERT: Covina's game against St. Joseph will be on Friday at Bonita High.

Agree totally with Big Daddy..I am a Amat fan to the end and when we play the locals CO, Glendora,Damien etc. it is all good to take shots at each other as to who is going to whip who. Final score tells the real story. When it becomes playoff time and your team does not make it (such as Amat the past two years) I am definitley pulling for our locals over the OC or the up north teams...this past week SGV really showed up with CO, WC and SH taking care of their business....especially WC and SH being underdogs and going against 10-0 and a 9-1 teams....After coming home from the Rowland LA game could not wait to catch the news and see how the locals did......real happy to see that most survived and get to go into the quarter finals this weekend...the sad part is between SH and CO where one of them has to leave the dance....could they have not switched that up.....anyway the playoffs are really shaping up nicely so if you are associated with a SGV school in our area by all right you should be pulling for the home area. In the CO SH case sling all you want it is all in good fun.......may the best team win......I know lots of the SGV schools come and support Bishop Amat when they are bringing it (hopefully next year)...so by all right this Amat supporter supports the locals.....good luck to CO SH WC Covina Los Altos Diamond Ranch..hope one of you plays for a championship.....Big Daddy great take bro.

Colt fan and all the nuts out there you guys are sick and perverted first of all I am a true blu n gold fan and want success not some watered down revision of the great days, im not the kind of sick jerk who crys and says they are stealing our players, and if im going to a playoff game im not going to come on internet and bag on these cities about thier fans or lack of and then say amat down but we still pack out stadium man thats chicken s*&t,

Were not in playoffs and they are bottom line and if division too tuff to get too playoffs then get out and stop crying like a b***h, if you were a man talk to an Rowland player or parent or a Los Al player or parent and express your views, YOU MAKE ME SICK your a soocer boy not a football man, if you cant talk about the game you went to in a positive light keep your butt home or better yet go down to Verdi house and wash car or cut lawn punk.

I also was at game and one thing certain I saw 5 maybe 7 players on Los Altos side and about 3 on Rowland side better than any at Bishop, and if we had them this year we would be in play offs, thats what you should be focussing on man, I even hear as we speak players are leaving because of this kid and his possee, if you and the rest of the wanna bees desire to go watch us get kicked around every week thats your business but man I want a run at the title and the way it looks now its getting further out of reach, thats a real fan I want success on the field and I respect all who play and soo should you clown.

Boy this blog really brings out all the wierd ones out there, now for you pony boy, poor demented child because you are healthy and have some numbers, now this school can beat up on all in valley whats next we can whip Amat boy you are really crazy but its your OPINION and you know what OPINIONs are like, I think Covina got spanked by Glendora, need I say more.

And finally the team that goes farthest is team whos players lay off the partying this weekend bottom line, hey man we all know this is why a 6-4 LOYOLA team wins title last year the rest are too busy having too much fun at the party or with the women.

And if you dont believe me about the way we are headed ask former Alumni Minor or Mc Cutcheon and see what they say, I think they would know more than you kid.

hell I'm going to the CO vs SH game. but not to see who wins, but to see who loses.the fact of the matter is ,is that both teams are lucky to be in round two.I don't relly like either teams,BUT I will be there and pay my $8.00 to witness the downfall of one of them, with the $8.00 they get from me maybe the can buy two new water bottels for next years team, oh yeah if CO loses will johnny cresbone transfer? this boy and his dad can't make up their minds on where they want to play !! first Amat now CO,whats next?los altos ,glendora? I heard ganesha needs a running back....but then who cares !!!I'M out

FOOTBALL4LIFE:

"CHARTER OAK BARELY WON THE LAST 3 GAMES, EVEN WITH BONITA, THEY ONLY WON BECAUSE OF AN INTERCEPTION"

Ditto La Mirada. Wilson too, IIRC. And Los Altos. Charter Oak has actually given up more points this season than they have scored, as well. They've either been very clutch, or very lucky, in their long string of close games, but I doubt very much they can keep it up.

SOUTH HILLS WILL WIN BIG TIME!!
CHARTER OAK BARELY WON THE LAST 3 GAMES, EVEN WITH BONITA, THEY ONLY WON BECAUSE OF AN INTERCEPTION
GO SOUTH HILLS 28- CHARTER OAK 14

I guess the times they are a changing. I remember when us Colts didn't have anything to do on a Friday night when CIF playoffs started and we'd all go as a team to watch one of our neighbors play and show support for them. We'd sit as a team and cheer for our brothers.
We didn't badmouth our other teams and say they were lucky that they squeaked into the playoffs. We didn't make excuses for us not being there while others were. We gave them the credit and support they deserved.

Boy..I miss the good ol' days.....

y do covina fans keep saying stupid stuff like we have covina players at south hills there is 1 kid who transfered from that school he dosnt even start...and thats it you r so ridiculous haha covina players wouldnt even start at south hills but the talk of it is stupid because C-TOWN(HAHA)would never play south hills there scared lil ladies

Oh I almost forgot, Bogan gets the most out of his players? Are they all really from the South Hills area? Not Sure about that.

And how'd it go with the coaching staff this year? Because I heard different.

First off i am by no means a Covina fan or Rowland, or any of the teams on South Hills schedule. Nice to see the usual fantasy land banter going on from the South hills crowd. So how do you think South Hills would do against OC?
South Hills is the cream of the watered down crop. They made a living out of beating up on weak schools in the playoffs for 5 years. Then you have the nerve to rip on Covina? That is really sad. I hope this really isn't Scott Fisch because if it is than you are just another example of the classless regime that is South Hills High School. I have never respected the achievements of South Hills versus the likes of South El monte, Orange, Santa Ana, Arroyo, Westminster, etc.
You step up and play Esperanza and the perennial underachieveing Rancho cucamonga yet cry when you get moved into the SouthWest division. Ha. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

The SH and Covina rivalry has always been great. I really don't know why they don't play in preseason since SH moved out of that division. I really feel that overall SH is the better team and the overall better program. But, Covina should at least be given that chance to play them and show what they are made of. Back in my day (gosh I sound like one of those old guys) we played Covina and Northview in league and still played West Covina and CO in preseason. All those games were fun, and always close. It was great to play the guys you knew and saw around town. I really think that it would be benificial for all players to bring back some of those old rivialries for some preseason fun!

S.Fisch...first off..it's been 2 good years not just one. And these two good years are at the end of many long and painful seasons. Word.

Bracketology...I seriously can not believe that coach Thomas would not have respect for all other coaches out there. I'm sure that if all the coaches get together over a few pitchers of beer they all trash talk one another but I'd bet it would be all in fun. You have to have respect for all other coaches and teams or you wouldn't be around too long.

Flashback..the 70's.. ( humor me ) we had a coach Christopher who IMHO had no business being a coach of tiddlywinks..let alone football. I think we went 0-9 my senior year. I walked off..and could not stand that jack-ass. I quit after I overheard him talking about some of us on the team and what he really thought of our team and some of the other coaches and teams we played against. Teams that had my friends on them. And this was OUR coach..what a joke. And I've never regretted it. I can't look at my senior yearbook to this day..without feeling sorry for my friends and teammates that had to play for that jack-ass. But then again I'll also remember the time that I was late to a practice ( the day I overheard him talking to another of our coaches ) and had to do "reinderers" by myself, after practice while the rest of the team watched ,and after I was done with what he dished out to me I stood there on the goal line..looking at the other one and screamed at him " More! "...he wasn't going to win...and didn't. My one molecule of compensation for giving up my senior year of football. Sadly his loser attitude slowly infected our whole team. Just goes to show how much a bad coach can affect a team. That was my last time in a colt uniform. Others on our team felt the same way I did but stayed and I respect the hell out their choice. We had some damn good players on our team (1000 times better than me) and it's a shame that because of a coach they never got to prove it to others. So now some of us old folks get to live vicariously through our old schools new teams. Let us have that pleasure. And now with some great players on our teams and a great coach it's fun to see what can happen when it all comes together. Some of us old colts never got to experience that. It's really nice to see Covina have their moments in the sun.
Moral of story, I'm sure that there are coaches out there with no respect for anyone... I told you about one. But from what I've seen and heard of coach Thomas..he's not one of them. He's a good guy. I can't see him being disrespectful to anyone or anything. I know his players like him and give their all for him. I know a bunch of us from way back when would have sold our souls to have a coach like him ( bottom line to a few pages earlier of life's story ).

Even though back then we were pretty crappy we looked forward to playing South Hills, West Covina, Charter Oak, Glendora, Edgewood, Los Altos, La Puente, Azusa, Northview. They were our peers..our hometown rivals. They had kids on their teams that we played Pee-Wee and Pop Warner together with and knew for years. And when we lost we still had fun ( for the most part ) because we were playing against our friends. Now we play against teams that I sure no one knows anyone on. Sad.

I'd take being back in a league with our neighbors and losing some games any day of the week. I'm probably the only one that feels that way. I will believe till the day I die that you only get better by playing better teams. I'm not saying by any means that some of the teams we play now are not good. But let me pick a league and fill it with my choice of teams...Oh baby..would I die a happy man!

To me there is something wrong with two teams sharing a district field..and they don't play each other.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog now in progress...

covina u get no love regaurdless of what some computer says...does that computer know that u have only beat 1 team with a winning record and that team was baldwin park! all they see is your big scores aginst ont christian and ganesha...south hills co los altos stopped playin teams like that 5 years ago...u begged to get out of the valle vista league u refused to play charter oak u never wanted a piece of la and were all tired of hearing how legit u are... your qb is a great athlete ill give u that...people stay home saturday night and watch the usc notre dame game dont go watch some paper chapion

Fred and I will tape Prep Rally on Tuesday. It should be up by afternoon or early evening tomorrow.

Hey Fish

Covina admin (& the rest of the league) only complained when Covina kids started showing up in Husky uniforms the Husky admin let slide on some miraculous "moves." Win with your own kids from your own neighborhood then you'll get some respect from your neighbors. Your not a private school like you think you are.

Aram,

What happen to the Prep Rally????

SFisch has a tremendous point. For all of you fans of Covina HS..let me ask you a question...When was the last time that coach Thomas said anything positive about SH since the Huskies were moved out of the VVL? Answer: Neither can I. I know for a fact that he openly cheers against SH and is totally jealous of all the success that Coach Bogan has developed over a SH.

Coach Thomas has done a tremendous job that last two years over at CHS. Tremendous job. But there is no coach that gets the most out of his players that Bogan. As John Honnell mentioned in his game story Saturday, since 2000 Bogan's record in the month of November is 30-1. That's not luck...that is product of the work that Bogan the rest of the staff do year in and year out.

Again, the teams that are representing the SGV are in the playoffs are doing a great job. All fans should save some money, not leave town for the weekend and watch either SH, CO, LA, WC, Diamond Ranch or CHS this weekend.

Truly a thanksgiving feast for the HS football fan.

SFisch,
Here you go! Let it go man! Why can't we be proud for our team. Every time some one has some thing good to say about Covina, here comes some JA with a put down. Support your team. Every body is talking about how OC will kill Covina. We haven't even reached that point yet. What's the big deal. We have to reach the big dance first. Could South Hills beat OC???? NO!!! OC WOULD KICK THE CRAP OUT OF SOUTH HILLS AND THAT'S A FACT. For once support your own team and if some one wants to be proud and happy about there team let them. South Hills won there game on Friday and all is good. The time for put downs is over. Quit being childish and act like grown ups and have a little respect. Yall act like yall are jealous that yall can't play OC. Let it go we have heard enough of this crap. Be happy for the teams in the area. We all just love the game!!!

Wow. Jump on the Covina bandwagon. One good year...This is what happens with a watered down Valle Vista League. Move South Hills and Bonita out and Covina is now the cream of the crop, finally. Too bad they will get a taste of their own medicine when they have to play Oaks Christian, if they make it that far. The Covina administration complained when South Hills won too much and then they complained when they were finally releagued into Oaks Christian's division. Don't kid yourself if you put the Huskies and the Colts on the field together. South Hills 28, Covina 10...

74 Colt

I am a SD Dad and will be there both nights!

Will be some good Football at least in our own
backyard and not 4+ hours away!

GO SGV!

JUST A TID BIT OF INFORMATION FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE......GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!

CALPREPS.COM

at Covina (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 31, [2006] St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA) 21

at St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 28, [2006] St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA) 24

at neutral site
[2006] Covina (CA) 31, [2006] St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA) 22

at Covina (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 28, [2006] South Hills (West Covina, CA) 21

at South Hills (West Covina, CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 26, [2006] South Hills (West Covina, CA) 21

at neutral site
[2006] Covina (CA) 27, [2006] South Hills (West Covina, CA) 21

at Covina (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 24, [2006] Charter Oak (Covina, CA) 17

at Charter Oak (Covina, CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 21, [2006] Charter Oak (Covina, CA) 20

at neutral site
[2006] Covina (CA) 22, [2006] Charter Oak (Covina, CA) 19

at Covina (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 31, [2006] Los Altos (CA) 21

at Los Altos (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 31, [2006] Los Altos (CA) 21

at neutral site
[2006] Covina (CA) 31, [2006] Los Altos (CA) 21

at Covina (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 28, [2006] West Covina (CA) 21

at West Covina (CA)
[2006] Covina (CA) 27, [2006] West Covina (CA) 22

at neutral site
[2006] Covina (CA) 28, [2006] West Covina (CA) 21

DAMIEN AT TEMESCAL CANYON....1900 YARDS RUSHING FOR THEIR RB, 1100 YARDS RUSHING FOR THEIR QB...OH YEAH AND 300 YARDS PASSING ON THE SEASON...WACK STATS THANKS A LOT TC COACH...OH WELL IT WILL BE A VERY GOOD TEST STOPPING THE RUN...CUZ THE WEEK AFTER ITS RYAN BASS AND CENTENNIAL!

As a high school football fan, my family and I will be there on friday night, BUT, we will have to flip a coin to decide what side to sit on.then it's on to saturday ...GO COLTS...colts are primmed and ready for round two, I say COLTS 48 St.Joseph 12..

No reason then why Covina fans can't come out on Friday night and watch a great match-up between South Hills and Charter Oak...and then on Saturday they come and do the same.

Two nights of great football!