Steve Ramirez and Fred J. Robledo going head-to-head throughout the season.
Records:
Robledo: Last week (12-5); Season (79-24)
Ramirez: Last week (11-6); Season (74-29)
Notes: I read in an LA times blog that a St. Francis player played our two-minute drill over and over to get pumped for the Los Altos game. Guess he didn’t like Time Warner’s Reginald Miller calling it the sure-pick of the week and saying the Conquerors will “devour” the Knights. Or me saying the Knights are catching the Conquerors at the wrong time. That’s why they play the games, so Ramirez and I both lose on Los Altos, and we both lost picking West Covina over Rancho Cucamonga, which was close for a half. We also both had Baldwin Park, so give credit to El Monte, who beat the Braves on the last play of the game. At least Ramirez picked South Hills over Fullerton, I couldn’t of been more wrong about that. Ramirez also picked Nogales over Montclair, which is another game I missed. Still, I picked up another win because I had Bonita over Northview, Troy over Diamond Bar and Azusa over Sierra Vista, while Ramirez went the other way on all three.
Thursday’s games
South Hills vs. Rancho Cucamonga at Covina District Field, 7 p.m. – Robledo (South HIlls); Ramirez (South HIlls)
Diamond Ranch vs. Oaks Christian at Ganesha, 7 p.m. – Robledo (DRanch); Ramirez (Oaks Christian)
Los Altos at Western, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Western); Ramirez (Los Altos)
El Dorado vs. Glendora at Citrus College, 7 p.m. – Robledo (El Dorado); Ramirez (El Dorado)
La Serna vs. El Monte at California, 7 p.m. – Robledo (La Serna); Ramirez (El Monte)
Mountain View vs. Tahquitz, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Tahquitz); Ramirez (Tahquitz)
Friday’s games
Bonita at San Dimas, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Bonita); Ramirez (San Dimas)
Ayala at West Covina, 7 p.m. – Robledo (West Covina); Ramirez (West Covina)
Rowland at Baldwin Park, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Rowland); Ramirez (Baldwin Park)
Bishop Amat at Carson, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Bishop Amat); Ramirez (Bishop Amat)
Charter Oak at Claremont, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Charter Oak); Ramirez (Charter Oak)
Orange at Rosemead, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Rosemead); Ramirez (Rosemead)
Chaffey at Wilson, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Chaffey); Ramirez (Wilson)
Northview at Nogales, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Northview); Ramirez (Northview)
Covina vs. Sonora at Covina District Field, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Sonora); Ramirez (Covina)
Gladstone vs. Azusa at Citrus College, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Gladstone); Ramirez (Azusa)
Workman vs. Sierra Vista at La Puente, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Sierra Vista); Ramirez (Sierra Vista)
Alhambra at South El Monte, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Alhambra); Ramirez (Alhambra)
La Puente at Bassett, 7 p.m. – Robledo (La Puente); Ramirez (La Puente)
Jurupa Valley at Walnut, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Jurupa Valley); Ramirez (Jarupa Valley)
Arroyo at Tustin, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Tustin); Ramirez (Tustin)
Saturday’s games
Brethren Christian vs. Western Christian at Ocean View HS, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Western Christian); Ramirez (Brethren Christian)
Final thoughts: By far, this is the toughest week of the season for picking games, and a week with a great Thursday lineup, so fans will be able to watch some of the valley’s best teams on their off nights. Ramirez and I differ on eight games! Glendora, South Hills, Los Altos and Diamond Ranch all have toughies on Thursday. In those games alone the SGV would be fortunate to go 2-2. Of course, Friday night is the Smudge Pot, and maybe one of the best in years with a 4-0 San Dimas squad going against a Bonita team that already has knocked off Covina and Northview with relative ease. Other games to watch: Can Bishop Amat keep it going at Carson, and can West Covina beat an Ayala team that beat Duarte and played Diamond Ranch tough? Whatever happens, what a great week of football.
