Steve Ramirez and Fred J. Robledo going head-to-head throughout the season.
Records:
Robledo: Last week (12-10); Season (91-34)
Ramirez: Last week (15-7); Season (89-36)
Notes: I didn’t choke as bad as USC and UCLA, but I tasted my share of humble pie, and let Steve Ramirez back in it. I’ve only got a slim two-game lead after posting TEN, yes TEN losses. Ramirez didn’t do much better with seven losses, so it shows what a tough week it was to pick games. Some were unexplainable, like South El Monte beating Alhambra, but we probably should of known better than to pick Bishop Amat over Carson or Tahquitz over Mountain View. We both had West Covina over Ayala, but I hurt myself picking Western over Los Altos and DRanch to upset Oaks Christian while Steve got both of those right. I could go on and on with our bad picks, but that would take to long.
Quotable: Bonita coach Eric Podley after losing 24-10 to San Dimas, “They’re ranked No. 7 for a reason, I don’t know why you guys (Tribune) all picked them to lose. You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. You should stick with your rankings.” You should have heard Ramirez crying afterward, “I don’t count, I don’t count.” Yes, Steve, you picked San Dimas to win. The dummy Podley was talking about was me.
Thursday
Gladstone vs. Workman at Citrus College, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Gladstone); Ramirez (Gladstone)
Baldwin Park at Ganesha, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Baldwin Park); Ramirez (Baldwin Park)
Friday
South Hills at Los Altos, 7 p.m. – Robledo (South Hills); Ramirez (South Hills)
Damien vs. Glendora, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Damien); Ramirez (Glendora)
St. Paul at Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m. – Robledo (St. Paul); Ramirez (Bishop Amat)
Charter Oak at Wilson, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Charter Oak); Ramirez (Charter Oak)
Covina vs. Northview, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Northview); Ramirez (Northview)
Diamond Ranch at Bonita, 7 p.m. – Robledo (DRanch); Ramirez (DRanch)
El Monte at Arroyo, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Arroyo); Ramirez (Arroyo)
West Covina at Rowland, 7 p.m. – Robledo (West Covina); Ramirez (West Covina)
Azusa at Duarte, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Duarte); Ramirez (Duarte)
Rosemead at South El Monte, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Rosemead); Ramirez (Rosemead)
Pomona at San Dimas, 7 p.m. – Robledo (San Dimas); Ramirez (San Dimas)
Diamond Bar at Ayala, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Diamond Bar); Ramirez (Diamond Bar)
Bassett at Sierra Vista, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Sierra Vista); Ramirez (Sierra Vista)
Nogales at Walnut, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Nogales); Ramirez (Walnut)
Mountain View at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Mountain View); Ramirez (Mountain View)
Saturday
Western Christian at Riverside Christian – Robledo (Riverside); Ramirez (Riverside)
Final Thoughts: When I glanced over the season schedule, this was a week I circled on the calendar. South Hills-Los Altos, Glendora-Damien, St. Paul-Bishop Amat, Charter Oak-Wilson, Covina-Northview, Diamond Ranch-Bonita. And other games have become intriguing, like El Monte-Arroyo or South El Monte-Rosemead. Diamond Bar-Ayala should be a great game. Two weeks ago, I would have picked Glendora over Damien and Los Altos over South Hills, but last week’s results changed my mind. It wasn’t Glendora’s loss to ElDo that changed me, it was how they lost. Los Altos losing Ray Rodriguez and Josh Contreas going down a week earlier has to catch up with them at some point, and the South Hills team I saw last week looked on the brink of going on a serious run. And Bishop Amat, oh Bishop Amat. Are you really going to start 1-5? It’s looking that way. Losing 21-0 to Carson could be a confidence killer, but maybe the emotions of having St. Paul in town will stir up the emotions. Heck, if it doesn’t, don’t even bother showing up.
