At Monday’s CIF luncheon with 26 finalists, each coach stands up and introduces the players and people at the table, which is usually three, maybe four players. It’s normally a smooth process, but Oak Christian coach Bill Redell came off as cocky to many. While most coaches introduce their players by position, Redell brought six players who are all big Div. I signees, and introduced them like, “Here’s Nick Montanta, Washington; Alana Fua, Brigham Young,” and so on. There was also Zac Stout (Brigham Young), Cassius Marsh (Louisiana State), Malcolm Jones ( UCLA) and Erik Kohler (Washington). Needless to say, the coaches around him weren’t thrilled by his presentation, which came off as big-timing the others in the room. It wasn’t just me, others felt it. And it came right after Rob Wigod’s “Pursue Victory with Honor,” speech. Yikes.
CIF Finals luncheon with San Dimas’ Bill Zernickow, Diamond Ranch’s Roddy Layton and Charter Oak’s Lou Farrar. BTW, A.J. Powell told me they call Charter oak Lou-Ville.
“We didn’t even know this event (champions luncheon) existed last year. It was all brand new. You had a coaching staff and players that had never experienced championship week. We had to deal with so many things like how to host it. There were so many things outside of football that you had to deal with. This year it’s all familiar and we know what we’re up against. They’re (Chargers) still the best until you knock them off. I can’t tell you how much respect I have for their team and their coaching staff, they do a tremendous job.” — Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton
“It’s not going to be any different. We preach one game at a time, and to live by that this week is truly it. This is our last game of the year. We’re going to prepare for it like we have all year. San Dimas is a good football team. We know they’re good, and our kids are pumped up to play.” — Monrovia coach Ryan Maddox
