Above: Charter Oak’s Kyle Rycraw celebrates first half touchdown

Friday’s results
La Habra 31, South Hills 6 … 0-3 start last year; 0-2 start this year. Not good folks
Charter Oak 27, La Mirada 0 …. Heard Chargers players saying “We want Glendora”
West Covina 14, Baldwin Park 6 …. Be honest, was this closer than you expected?
Damien 27, Claremont 20 …. Wasn’t this close, Spartans jumped on them quick
Covina 39, Ontario Christian 16 …. Dont count out the Colts just yet
Los Altos 39, Long Beach Wilson 7…. Trib’s top-ranked team goes to Damien next
Canyon 49, Bonita 28 …. They can score, but defense need to do their job too
Hart 21, Bishop Amat 3 …. 0-3! Has Bishop Amat ever started 0-4?
Duarte 26, El Segundo 25 …. Another solid win for the Falcons
Wilson 41, Glenn 7 …. That’s two straight blowouts for Wildcats
San Dimas 42, Montclair 9 …. So far so good (3-0)
Rowland 32, Montebello 26 …..Nothing like winning on new home turf
California 33, El Monte 6 …. What your expected, right?
Jordan 17, Diamond Bar 16 …. Unlucky. They’re better than 1-2
Mountain View 24, Azusa 18 …. Kind of a surprise
Pioneer 29, South El Monte 14 …. Expected Eagles offense to be better than this
Ontario 44, Nogales 12 …. Thought they would lose, but not like this
Arroyo 24, Warren 14 …. Knights have a huge test next at Alhambra
Bosco Tech 49, Workman 16 …. Those Tech boys can play
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 40, Bassett 6 …. It was over when it started
Garey 27, Gladstone 10 …. Three games in, already a roller coaster
Lawndale 53, Sierra Vista 40 ….Dons quarterack Justin Flores did his part.

Above: Vikings getting ready to roll all over Mustangs

Thursday’s results
Northview 39, Walnut 0 ….. No contest, it was 26-0 in the first quarter. I watched the first half and I’m still not sure if the Vikings are this good, or if Walnut is that bad. But for sure, the Vikings’ offense is legit. Defensively, I’m not so sure how they will do against tough running teams like San Dimas.
Glendora 31, Etiwanda 13 ….. Can’t believe I just typed it. They don’t just shoot hoops in the foothills anymore. It was only this close because Etiwanda scored late in the game against the Tartans’ reserves. If they can score like this against a powerful foe like Etiwanda, then with that defense, who knows, maybe the Tartans are the best team in Trib country.

Game of the week video: La Mirada vs. Charter Oak

Brought to you by Steve Ramirez
High school football is more than a game, but in someways a fabric of American life. A point that the Hollywood movie industry has discovered over the years, which brings up an interesting point: Which is the best movie about high school football?
Now this type of debate could be heated as much as who is the top team in the Valley this fall. But from my perspective, here are the top five that I have saved permanently on my Blockbuster Online account:

1. All the Right Moves
The Take: This is top dog, the Picasso of the genre. It stars a very young Tom Cruise and we get a side of Craig T. Nelson that we never saw in “Coach.” This tale of the Ampipe football team hits a home run in epitomizing the passion that a community has for its high school football team. The action scenes are also believable, except maybe Coach Nickerson’s decision not to take a safety in the waning moments, which result in a heart-breaking loss to a rival school.
Best Line: ” A fluke? That pass-interference penalty was no fluke. If you had done it the way I taught you, they never would’ve been down there in the first place, and they never would’ve scored, and we would’ve won that game!” Craig T. Nelson as Coach Nickerson scolding Tom Cruise’s Stef Djordjevic

2. Remember the Titans
The Take: This is the true tale of the 1971 T.C. Williams High (Va.) football team and how its ability to put race aside bring a town together. Denzel Washington and William Patton are certainly believeable as head coach Herman Boone and defensive coordinator Bill Yost. I like everything from the training camp scenes to the on-the-field action. The end is somewhat of a cliche, though. I just find it hard to believe in a championship game that a defense would let one team score on a 70-yard run as time expired.
Best Line: “If we don’t come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don’t care if you like each other of not, but you will respect each other. And maybe… I don’t know, maybe we’ll learn to play this game like men. ” – Denzel Washington as coach Herman Boone giving a motivational speech to his team.

3. Friday Night Lights
The Take: Another true tale, this time from Odessa, Texas. The story is very believable and inspirational. The final play is awesome, because its true to life. Plus, the hidden message – that its not about the final answer but the journey; that being perfect is not about going 14-0, but giving your all.
Best Line: “Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning. It’s about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didnt let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasnt one more thing you could’ve done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman – you’re perfect!”
– Billy Bob Thornton as coach Gary Gaines giving an emotional halftime speech during the Texas State championship game.

4. School Ties
The Take: High School football is nearly a back drop to a film about a jewish quarterback, played by Brendan Fraser, who has to deal with the racism of playing at parochial school in the 1950s. We also learn that recruiting players from other schools wasn’t a concept born in the 1990s.
Best Line: “Was it worth it? Breaking a tradition just to win a football game? – Peter Donat’s Headmaster Bartram talking to Fraser’s David Greene.

5. Best of Times
The Take: This is one of my personal favorites on the list and the only comedy. It’s the tale of Jack Dundee, a banker, who can’t forget dropping the winning TD pass some 13 years before and preventing Taft from upsetting rival Bakersfield. It’s more about adults trying to recapture their past glory, but high school football is the on-going theme. And it hits home to anyone who has failed in sports and would love to make up for it.
Best Line: “I’m not a has-been. I’m a never-was. I aspire to be a has-been. – Robin Williams as Jack Dundee, wanting desperately to make up for his blunder years before

HONORABLE MENTION
Varsity Blues – A fictional tale about playing football in Texas. Jon Voigt is good as the coach you love to hate. But this is a cheap version of “Friday Night Lights.”
Fast Times at Ridgemont High – A 1970s cult classic that only misses the list because its more about high school life than football, but the football scenes and references are classic.
Gridiron Gang – A pretty good take on the beginnings of the Camp Kilpatrick football program.

Continue reading “The best damn high school football movies, period.” »

Time Warner’s Reginald Miller, Tribune prep writer Steve Ramirez and
prep editor Fred J. Robledo discuss five of this week’s top games. By the way, Miller does a great job following our local teams and beyond on his popular site “A Local Sports Show” … go check it out.
http://www.alocalsportsshow.com/main.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alocalsportsshow.com%2F

Glendora vs. Etiwanda at Colony HS, Thursday, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/091207_GELENETIW.asp

South Hills at La Habra, Friday, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/091207_SOUTHLAHAB.asp

La Mirada at Charter Oak, Friday, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/091207_LAMIRCO.asp

West Covina at Baldwin Park, Friday, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/091207_WCBP.asp

Claremont at Damien, Friday, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/091207_DAMCLARE.asp

Tribune top ten rankings
1. Los Altos (1-0)
2. Glendora (1-0)
3. Diamond Ranch (1-1)
4. South Hills (0-1)
5. Charter Oak (0-1)
6. Bishop Amat (0-2)
7. Damien (1-1)
8. Northview (1-0)
9. Arroyo (1-0)
10. San Dimas (2-0)

Northview quarterback Oscar Robles

CIF-SS RANKINGS
Mid Valley Division
1. Bishop Diego; 2. Santa Clara; 3. Cantwell Sacred Heart; 4. Duarte; 5. Los Angeles Baptist; 6. Cerritos Valley Chr.; 7T. Villiage Christian, 7T. Temple City, 9. Paraclete; 10. Verbum Dei.
Southeast Division
1. Troy; 2. Schurr; 3. La Serna; 4. California; 5. La Habra; 6. Westminster; 7. Santa Fe; 8. Arroyo; 9. Alhambra; 10. Fullerton.
Southwest Division
1. El Dorado, 2. Los Altos; 3. Mayfair; 4. Foothill; 5. Trabuco Hills; 6. Anaheim Canyon; 7. Charter Oak, 8. Diamond Ranch, 9. El Toro, 10. West Covina.
Northwest Division
1. Oaks Christian; 2. Oak Park; 3. Harvard-Westlake; 4. Morro Bay; 5. South Torrance; 6. Templeton; 7. Serra; 8. Pioneer Valley; 9. San Dimas, 10. Cathedral.
For the rest of the polls, click thread

Continue reading “Los Altos back on top” »

Should this be a football only blog in the fall, or is there interest in blogging about other fall sports like volleyball, cross country, tennis and water polo

Steve Ramirez and Fred J. Robledo going head-to-head throughout the season.

Records:
Robledo: Last week (18-6); Season (30-7)
Ramirez: Last week (17-7); Season (26-11)
Notes: What a tough week to pick football games. Ramirez and I both missed Duarte beating Monrovia, St. John Bosco knocking off Damien, and Trabuco Hills over South Hills. I called the Upland over Charter Oak and Ramirez called West Valley over Bonita, but where I edged him out for the week was picking El Monte over Sierra Vista.

Thursday’s games
Northview vs. Walnut at Covina District Stadium, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Northview), Ramirez (Northview)
Glendora vs. Etiwanda at Colony HS, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Etiwanda), Ramirez (Glendora)

Friday’s games
South Hills at La Habra, 7 p.m. – Robledo (La Habra) , Ramirez (La Habra)
La Mirada at Charter Oak, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Charter Oak), Ramirez (Charter Oak)
West Covina at Baldwin Park, 7 p.m. – Robledo (West Covina), Ramirez (West Covina)
Claremont at Damien, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Damien), Ramirez (Damien)
Ontario Christian vs. Covina at Covina District Stadium, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Covina), Ramirez (Ont Christian)
Long Beach Wilson at Los Altos, 7:30 p.m. – Robledo (Los Altos), Ramirez (Los Altos)
Canyon at Bonita, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Canyon), Ramirez (Canyon)
Bishop Amat vs. Hart at Canyon, 7:30 p.m. – Robledo (Hart), Ramirez (Hart)
El Segundo at Duarte, 7 p.m. – Robledo (El Segundo), Ramirez (Duarte)
Glenn at Wilson, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Wilson), Ramirez (Wilson)
San Dimas at Montclair, 7 p.m. – Robledo (San Dimas), Ramirez (San Dimas)
Montebello at Rowland, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Rowland), Ramirez (Rowland)
California at El Monte 7 p.m. – Robledo (California), Ramirez (California)
Jordan at Diamond Bar p.m. – Robledo (Diamond Bar), Ramirez (Diamond Bar)
Azusa at Mountain View, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Azusa), Ramirez (Azusa)
South El Monte at Pioneer 7 p.m. – Robledo (Pioneer), Ramirez (South El Monte)
Ontario at Nogales, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Ontario), Ramirez (Ontario)
Warren at Arroyo, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Arroyo), Ramirez (Arroyo)
Bosco Tech vs. Workman at St. Matthias HS, 7 p.m. – Robledo (BTech), Ramriez (BTech)
Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Bassett, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Cantwell), Ramirez (Cantwell)
Garey at Gladstone at Citrus College, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Gladstone), Ramirez (Gladstone)

Saturday’s game
El Cajon Christian vs. Diamond Ranch at Ganesha, 7 p.m. – Robledo (DRanch), Ramirez (DRanch)
Bloomington Christian vs. Western Christian at Citrus College, 7 p.m. – Robledo (BloomChristian), Ramirez (West Christian)

Final thoughts: If I’m right, South Hills is 0-2 after what will probably be another close loss at La Habra. This is what happens when you play a tough schedule. Nothing wrong with it, Huskies will bounce back and still win the San Antonio, but from a SGV swagger standpoint, losing your two opening games hurts. Also expect Damien to bounce back big as well as Charter Oak. They won’t be losing this week. Also think West Covina will throw the Mater Dei video tape in the trash and handle Baldwin Park. Also hoping Diamond Ranch doesn’t stumble on Saturday against El Cajon Christian after last week’s big win. In fact, that game is at Ganesha, so hopefully SGV fans will turn out to see for themselves how good this team really is. Oh yeah, picking against Duarte again this week. I’m 0-2 picking the Falcons, so that has to change.

Since I can’t flick on ESPN and watch highlights of our San Gabriel Valley teams, you can help by suggesting this week’s football player of the week.

Rosemead-Los Altos highlights from youtube