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

Records:
Robledo: Last week (17-2); Season (150-48)
Ramirez: Last week (16-3); Season (150-48)

Notes: Finally, I tied Ramirez. With one week left in the season, it’s come down to Northview-Baldwin Park, the only game we picked differently this week. Steve will explain why he chose to go with Baldwin Park and not his alma mater, and I’ll tell you why I’m picking Northview in an upset in this week’s two-minute drill. The lunch bet includes the playoffs, but the regular season bragging rights is on the line. Last week, Steve and I both didn’t believe La Puente could beat Duarte, and it happened. Congrats to the Warriors, that was a gutty performance in taking the Montview League title. I also picked Wilson to beat Los Altos and Rowland to beat Walnut, grabbing two wins on Steve who went the other way. But Steve got one back by picking Aquinas over Western Christian, and after seeing how easy Aquinas won, I’m wondering why I gave Steve that freebie. Get ready for a great final week, lots of games on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday game of the week: Charter Oak at Diamond Ranch
Friday game of the week: Baldwin Park vs. Northview at Covina District

Thursday’s games
Charter Oak vs. Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Charter Oak); Ramirez (Charter Oak)
Bonita at Los Altos, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Los Altos); Ramirez (Los Altos)
Covina at San Dimas, 7 p.m. — Robledo (San Dimas); Ramirez (San Dimas)
Chino Hills at Damien, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Chino Hills): Ramirez (Chino Hills)
Walnut at West Covina, 7 p.m. — Robledo (West Covina); Ramirez (West Covina)
Glendora at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Glendora); Ramirez (Glendora)
South Hills at Nogales, 7 p.m. — Robledo (South HIlls); Ramirez (South Hills)
Wilson at Rowland, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Wilson); Ramirez (Wilson)
Sierra Vista at Duarte, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Duarte); Ramirez (Duarte)

Friday’s games
Baldwin Park vs. Northview at Covina District Field, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Northview); Ramirez (Baldwin Park)
El Monte at South El Monte, 7 p.m. — Robledo (SElMonte); Ramirez (SElMonte)
Loyola at Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (Loyola); Ramirez (Loyola)
Mountain View at Rosemead, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Rosemead); Ramirez (Rosemead)
Gabrielino at Arroyo, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Arroyo); Ramirez (Arroyo)
Azusa at La Puente, 7 p.m. — Robledo (La Puente); Ramirez (La Puente)
Workman at Bassett, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Workman); Ramirez (Workman)
Arrowhead Christian vs. Western Christian at Arcadia, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Western Christian); Ramirez (Western Christian)

Final Thoughts: Once again, the Miramonte League heads into the final week with all five teams in the playoff hunt. It’s a headache going over all the scenarios, but Wilson’s alive because if Charter Oak beats Diamond Ranch and Bonita beats Los Altos, there will be a three-way tie for third between Los Altos, Diamond Ranch and Wilson, with a coin flip deciding the final entry into the Southwest playoffs. For Diamond Ranch to get in, they need a win and a Bonita win over Los Altos. For Los Altos to get in, they simply need a win over Bonita. Charter Oak and Bonita are in regardless of what happens. In the Valle Vista, Baldwin Park has clinched a share of the league title, but If Northview wins on Friday and San Dimas beats Covina, there will be a three-way tie for first, meaning coin flips will decide the order of finish into the playoffs.

Above: Bonita advances to semifinals, and will face top-seeded Village Christian (26-2), a 28-26, 25-20, 25-18 quarterfinal winner over San Gabriel in Tuesday’s semifinals at Village Christian.

CIF-Southern Section playoffs
Tuesday’s semifinals
Division III-AA
Bonita (15-4) at Village Christian (26-2), 7 p.m.
Brentwood (23-9) at La Quinta (14-11), 7 p.m.

Saturday’s quarterfinal results
Division II-AA
Corona del Mar def. St. Lucy’s 25-18, 25-9, 25-17
Bishop Montgomery def. South Hills 25-20, 25-21, 25-12
Division III-AA
Bonita d. Palm Desert, 25-21, 25-17, 25-23

Above: South Hills celebrating first-round win over Diamond Bar.
Tuesday’s first-round results
Division II-AA
Beckman d. Glendora, 25-20, 25-13, 25-22
Walnut d. Corona Santiago, 25-23, 25-23, 29-27
Norco d. Bishop Amat 25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-15
South Hills d. Diamond Bar, 25-20, 17-25, 25-19, 27-25
Estancia d. Rowland, score unavailable

Division III-A
Palm Springs d. Arroyo, 25-11, 25-13, 27-25, 25-22
San Dimas d. South El Monte 23-25, 25-13, 25-12, 25-16
Bonita d. Maranatha, 25-12, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23
Los Altos d. Bell Gardens, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20
Covina d. La Mirada, 16-25, 25-16, 7-25, 25-16, 25-8
Charter Oak d. Patriot, 27-25, 25-21, 25-12
Gabrielino d. Ganesha, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18

Division IV-AA
La Puente d. Bishop Diego 22-25, 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 17-15
Viewpoint d. Sierra Vista, 25-12, 25-15, 25-13
Aquinas d. Gladstone, 25-18, 16-25, 12-25, 25-23, 15-12
St. Margaret’s d. Azusa, 25-5, 25-9, 25-9

Here’s our Final regular-season rankings
1. South Hills (16-8) Riding seven-match win streak
2. Los Altos (22-9) Gains some sweet revenge
3. Walnut (19-7) Best No. 2 in the area
4. Gladstone (20-6) Was perfect in Montview
5. Bonita (12-4) Slippin and a slidin
6. Bishop Amat (17-9) On four-match win streak
7. St. Lucy’s (13-10) Has looked good lately
8. Diamond Bar (16-11) Opens playoffs at South Hills
9. San Dimas (16-6) Closed deal in Valle Vista
10. Glendora (10-5) Advances after big win

Above: Walnut High’s Derek Chung looks to pass vs Rowland High in match earlier this season. Walnut hosts Palm Springs in a playoff match on Thursday.

CIF-Southern Section Playoffs
Tuesday’s Wild Card
Division V
Corona at Rowland, 3 p.m.
West Covina at Upland, 3 p.m.
Thursday’s first round
Palm Springs at Walnut, 3 p.m.

Tuesday’s first round
Division VI
Sierra Vista at Santa Monica, 3 p.m.
El Segunod at San Dimas, 3 p.m.

Thursday’s first round
Division III
Troy at Bonita, 3 p.m.
El Rancho at Damien, 3 p.m.
Charter Oak at South Pasadena

Trouble has continued to follow Baldwin Park standout Lawrence Phillips. Once a running back at the University of Nebraska and in the NFL with several teams, Phillips, 31, was recently convicted of seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon for driving a car at group of young men, injuring three after a losing pickup football game near the Coliseum. He faces 10-20 years in prison.

Interview with former Baldwin Park coach Tony Zane, who coached Lawrence Phillips

Phillips faces long prison term. Our reporter, Dan Abendschein, tells his story.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/search/ci_7365713?IADID=Search-www.sgvtribune.com-www.sgvtribune.com

Running back remembered as one of the best
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_7365981

Former Tribune prep sports editor Steve Hunt writes about Phillips. Hunt is now this newspapers managing editor.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_7354339

Tonight’s games and predictions
La Puente 10, Duarte 7 — Yes, Defense wins championships. Warriors clinch Montview League title after going 2-8 and finishing sixth a year ago.
Glendora 24, Ayala 17 — Tartans win back-and-forth see-saw thriller, clinching Sierra League title for first time since 1993.
Notre Dame 51, Bishop Amat 30 — Scoring 30 points on that group is a moral victory.
Charter Oak 28, Bonita 14 — Chargers clinch Miramonte League title with two-touchdown victory.
Baldwin Park 25, Covina 16 — Braves continue to prove they’re the real deal, clinch at least a share of Valle Vista League title.
Wilson 42, Los Altos 36 — Your’s truly called it — setting up another wild playoff-fighting finish in the Miramonte League.
Rosemead 31, Arroyo 20 — Rosmead back in the playoff hunt; Knights lose second straight.
Northview 33, Pomona 14 — This sets up huge finish with Baldwin Park for a piece of the league title.
South El Monte 41, Mountain View 0 — Is it me, or is South El Monte turning into a monster. That’s five straight now.
Sierra Vista 21, Gladstone 18 — Dons clinch a playoff spot with three-point win.
El Monte 20, Gabrielino 14 — In the tight Mission Valley League, this was a much-needed win for Lions.
Diamond Ranch 34, Nogales 6 — Huge win, with Los Altos and Bonita losing, they’re back in the playoff hunt.
San Dimas 42, Ganesha 0 — Everything you expect, right?
Damien 31, Chino 7 — Spartans keep their playoff hopes alive.
Chino Hills 31, Diamond Bar 21 — Brahamas must be tired of losing all the close ones.
Aquinas 55, Western Christian 17 — Ouch, that’s a lot of points to give up.
Rowland 35, Walnut 0 — Raiders clinch playoff spot with victory.

Thursday Night’s Results
South Hills 35, West Covina 24 — “Prime Time” Wells comes up big
Azusa 40, Bassett 0 — Aztecs take care of business

Here’s what you didn’t get on Fox Sports last night, the great fans talking about the game.

For quarter-by-quarter updates, click scoreboard

http://lang.sgvtribune.com/preps/scoreboard/week9.asp