I know many of you have asked why Charter Oak and Glendora are not playing each other next season, so I asked both coaches why the contract wasn’t renewed. The answers were interesting, leading me to believe there is much more going on behind the scenes.

Charter Oak coach Lou Farrar: “They (Glendora) dropped us. We would have loved to play them, it was very disappointing. I always thought it was a great game. There was a mayor’s trophy involved and all that good stuff. It was good for both places in terms of excitement about the game and from a revenue standpoint. You would have to ask them why we’re not playing, we wanted to continue it.”

Glendora coach Mark Pasquarella:: “From our standpoint, there was a difference in philosophy. I’d rather not get into all the details, but it’s an emotional game for our kids, and I didn’t like the way it was set up.”

Noteworthy: As a result, Farrar went on to say that he tried to schedule Northview next year, but he heard the Vikings are already signed to play Los Altos in week one.

Five games I would love to watch next season
Bishop Amat vs. Los Altos
South Hills vs. Diamond Ranch
Charter Oak vs. Muir
San Dimas vs. Glendora
Northview vs. Damien

Above: South Hills’ Damon Kuklinski getting ready to make a tackle.

In no particular order, these are the area’s top muscle men. Obviously, this is a tough group to pick. There are so many more names that we could have included, but this isn’t a bad list to start with. By the way, this list isn’t broken down into top linebackers, lineman, etc, just top defensive front guys.

Dominique Austin, Bishop Amat – Could be best of the best. Listed at 6-5, 250 pounds, the Lancers standout is leaning toward Arizona and San Diego State.

Damon Kuklinski, South Hills – He’s out with an injury, but he was the Huskies’ leading tackler when he went down.

Spencer Stueve, Diamond Ranch — The senior is averaging 10 tackles per game on one of the area’s best defenses.

Chris Kovar, Glendora – All conversations about the Tartans’ talented D-Line starts and ends with Kovar, a returning All-Sierra League selection.

Nick Padilla, Charter Oak – Coming off his best game, a three-sack performance in a 50-6 win over Wilson.

Marc Felix, Los Altos – Ray Rodriguez and Josh Contreas should be on this list too, but both are out with season-ending injuries. In any case, Felix is having another great season.

Bronze Withem, San Dimas — The 5-foot-11, 200 pound senior is averaging 11 tackles per game and has 69, including 39 solo on the season.

Kebin Umodo, South Hills — The returning All-CIF Southwest Division first-team selection is having another fine year for the Huskies. In fact, the Huskies are loaded with guys on the D-Line.

Andrew Rodriguez, Northview – The Vikings need more tough guys like Rodriguez if they hope to stop San Dimas next week.

John Rabe, Damien –– The Spartans standout is having a great season despite his teams struggles. At 6-5, 260 pounds, should make a great addition at Oregon.

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

Records:
Robledo: Last week (11-7); Season (102-41)
Ramirez: Last week (14-4); Season (103-40)

Notes: The world’s falling apart. I haven’t won the office pool since Labor Day and now Ramirez has passed me in the season total. Time to man-up and drink by bottle of get tough. Steve got me in the big games, going with Bishop Amat over St. Paul and Glendora over Damien, and got lucky with Walnut over Nogales. We both missed South El Monte over Rosemead, Gabrielino over Rosemead, Western Christian over Riverside Christian (upset of the week) and Ayala over Diamond Bar. Well, guess it’s time to find my second wind.

Thursday’s games
Diamond Ranch vs. Los Altos at Ganesha, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Diamond Ranch); Ramirez (Diamond Ranch)
Northview vs. Ganesha at Covina District Stadium, 7 p.m. – Robledo (Northview); Ramirez (Northview)

Friday’s games
Arroyo at Mountain View, 7 p.m.– Robledo (Arroyo); Ramirez (Arroyo)
Rosemead at El Monte, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Rosemead); Ramirez (Rosemead)
South El Monte at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. — Robledo (South El Monte); Ramirez (South El Monte)
Bassett vs. Gladstone at Citrus College, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Gladstone); Ramirez (Gladstone)
Duarte vs. Workman at La Puente, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Duarte); Ramirez (Duarte)
La Puente at Sierra Vista, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Sierra Vista); Ramirez (La Puente)
Wilson at Bonita, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Bonita); Ramirez (Bonita)
Rowland at Nogales, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Rowland); Ramirez (Rowland)
South Hills vs. Walnut at Covina District, 7 p.m. — Robledo (South Hills); Ramirez (South Hills)
Diamond Bar at Chino, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Chino); Ramirez (Diamond Bar)
Glendora at Chino Hills, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Glendora); Ramirez (Glendora)
Ayala at Damien, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Ayala); Ramirez (Ayala)
San Dimas at Baldwin Park (CA), 7 p.m. — Robledo (San Dimas); Ramirez (San Dimas)
Covina vs. Pomona at Ganesha, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Covina); Ramirez (Covina)
Bishop Amat at Alemany, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (Bishop Amat); Ramirez (Bishop Amat)
Azusa at Aquinas, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Aquinas); Ramirez (Aquinas)
West Covina at Charter Oak, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Charter Oak); Ramirez (Charter Oak)

Final Thoughts: Hard to go with Los Altos over Diamond Ranch. I don’t know if Ray Rodriguez would have changed the outcome in last week’s loss to South Hills, but it was obvious the Conquerors missed him. You have to think that DRanch, after shutting out Bonita, will pin a second straight loss on the Conqs. Also wondering if Baldwin Park, whose only two setbacks were close losses to West Covina and El Monte, can hang with San Dimas at home. If not, it will likely set up the Valle Vista league title showdown next week when the Saints take on Northview at the District Field. The Sierra League title will likely be decided this week. Yes, Ayala’s a sleeper, but if Glendora can follow its win over Damien with a win at Chino Hills, you have to like their chances of winning the Sierra, or at least earning a tie. Glendora fans may not like this, but I’m going with the Tartans this week. I know I’ve been more wrong that right with you guys, but I’ve got that feeling again.

Above: South Hills High’s Brandon Parham, left, congratulates Alex Bromstead, right, after Bromstead scored in the first quarter against Los Altos.

Friday’s results
South Hills 35, Los Altos 21 — Nobody playing better than the Huskies in last four games. All their big names showed up and had an impact.
Glendora 35, Damien 14 — Didn’t see them putting a whipping on the Spartans like this
Bishop Amat 31, St. Paul 30 (3 OT) — Fans treated to a triple-overtime thriller at Kiefer
Charter Oak 50, Wilson 6 — After all those close Miramonte wins last year, this must of fell great for Farrar and Co.
Northview 38, Covina 13 — The Vikings needed a wake-up call, and that’s what their crosstown rival provided. There will be a new champion in the Valle Vista. It Should probably come down to Northview-San Dimas.
Diamond Ranch 19, Bonita 0 — You know what the Panthers are thinking: Bring on Los Altos, coming Thursday.
Arroyo 19, El Monte 14 — Lions figured to give the Knights all they could handle, and did.
West Covina 27, Rowland 0 — Bulldogs figure to be only team that might, and that’s a big might, that can compete with South Hills in San Antonio.
Duarte 31, Azusa 17 — Wasn’t this closer than you thought it would be?
South El Monte 20, Rosemead 14 — Unbelievable. Best 2-4 team not named Bishop Amat.
San Dimas 41, Pomona 13 — Nothing can stop this scoring machine
Ayala 29, Diamond Bar 0 — Hmmm, Glendora, Chino Hills have another contender to worry about.
Sierra Vista 34, Bassett 7 — The Don’s high-flying aerial show continues
Walnut 7, Nogales 6 –– Finally, Mustangs find the win column.
Gabrielino 27, Mountain View 6 — Vikings great start goes up in flames against Eagles.

Above: Baldwin Park running all over Ganesha.

Thursday’s results
Baldwin Park 38, Ganesha 0 – Braves (4-2, 1-0) are just a few plays from being undefeated after close losses to West Covina and El Monte. Do they have any chance next week against San Dimas?
Workman 29, Gladstone 20 – It was a must win for the Lobos, and they got it, knocking off Happy Rock for the second straight year.

Watch Friday’s video highlights of Bishop Amat’s thrilling 31-30 triple overtime victory over St. Paul

Also, nobody tailgates like Bishop Amat, and enjoy the 50th homecoming celebration with fans

For final scores, click scoreboard

http://lang.sgvtribune.com/preps/scoreboard/week6.asp

Tribune rankings from top to bottom
1. Los Altos (4-1)
2. Charter Oak (4-1-1)
3. Diamond Ranch (3-2)
4. South Hills (3-2)
5. San Dimas (5-0)
6. Glendora (3-2)
7. Damien (2-2-1)
8. Bishop Amat (1-4)
9. Rosemead (4-1)
10. Duarte (4-1)
11. Wilson (3-2)
12. Northview (3-2)
13. Covina (3-2)
14. Diamond Bar (2-3)
15. Bonita (2-3)
16. Arroyo (3-2)
17. Baldwin Park (3-2)
18. West Covina (2-3)
19. El Monte (3-2)
20. Mountain View (3-1)
21. South El Monte (1-4)
22. La Puente (3-3)
23. Rowland (1-4)
24. Nogales (2-3)
25. Gladstone (2-4)
26. Azusa (2-3)
27. Sierra Vista (1-5)
28. Workman (1-4)
29. Walnut (0-5)
30. Western Christian (1-4)
31. Bassett (0-5)

Note: By popular demand, coming next week, area’s top ten defensive lineman.

Time Warner’s Reginald Miller and Tribune Prep Editor Fred J. Robledo discuss four 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

Friday’s games

South Hills at Los Altos, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/101007_SHILLSVSLOSALOS.asp

St. Paul at Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/101007_BAMATVSSTPAUL.asp

Covina vs. Northview at Covina District Field, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/101007_NORTHVVSCOVINA.asp

Rosemead at South El Monte, 7 p.m.
http://lang.sgvtribune.com/multimedia/asps/101007_ROSEMEADVSSELMONTE.asp

Above: South Hills middle blocker Melinda Gomez in a match against St. Lucy’s. Gomez was named the Tribune athlete of the week

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TOP 10 RANKINGS
1. Los Altos (15-3) The Conquerors train keeps on rolling
2. Bonita (6-2) Bearcats taking care of business
3. Walnut (10-3) Drops a spot after South Hills loss
4. Diamond Bar (9-6) Showing steady progress
5. Bishop Amat (11-4) Big three doing their part
6. South Hills (7-6) Shows it still rules San Antonio
7. Northview (9-0) Even coach didnt expect this start
8. Glendora (6-3) Scored nice split last week
9. Gladstone (10-4) Looks ready to reclaim Montview
10. San Dimas (9-5) Off to good start in VVL
Note: Rankings and records are based on matches played thru Oct. 6

Above: San Dimas players celebrate recent win over Northview

Comments: South Hills shook up the rankings a bit after pushing Los Altos to five games and upsetting Walnut in five. The Huskies have some impressive wins in the early season, but coach Charm Doyle is still looking for some consistency. If she gets it, this could be a team to watch in November. … There are two big matches today to keep an eye on. Undefeated Northview faces its first big test of the season when it hosts defending Valle Vista League champion San Dimas at 3:15 p.m. … There’s also a top-five battle when No. 2 Bonita hosts No. 3 Walnut at 5:15 p.m. in a nonleague match… Gladstone, which gave up its stranglehold of the Montview League last season, appears ready to move back to the top of the Montview League mountain after starting 5-0 in league play. … Charter Oak, which falls just outside the top 10, gets a chance to bump its way in today as it faces No. 1 Los Altos.

St. Lucy’s fire head volleyball coach, Art Garcia
Read Pete Marshall’s story and Garcia’s explanation …
http://www.sgvtribune.com/preps/ci_7143616