Spring Football: Ryan Merrill is handling offensive play calling at Damien, QB battle heating up

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Just because school is out when the Damien High School football team hits the field for practice doesn’t mean the Spartans don’t have something to learn. In fact, that’s about all Damien will be doing this spring and summer as coach Greg Gano tries to make do with a youthful roster the veteran coach is asking to do many things differently on offense. “We’re putting in a lot of new things on offense,” Gano said. “We’re going to do a lot of different things, so a lot of what we do this spring is teaching.”

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Baseball: Northview’s Eddie Pedroza using other leadership skills while waiting for arm to heal

By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer
From day one, Eddie Pedroza has been the Northview High School baseball team’s leader. That won’t change when the Vikings open up the CIF-Southern Section playoffs with a first-round home game against Barstow on Friday. The manner in how the left-hander leads will. Pedroza, one of the top pitchers in the area the past three seasons, and the guy most have tabbed as the key to the Vikings making deep run through the Division4 playoffs, has had to change his modus operandi a bit after injuring a tendon on the elbow of his throwing arm two weeks ago.

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Was it right to identify the high school baseball player for urinating in public during the national anthem? This columnist thinks so

It happened at Powell Valley High School in Virginia, and a local columnist defends his decision to identify the teenager for doing it. It’s one of the ironies of journalism: We can spend 13 months on a controversial series that eventually wins the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and not receive a single criticism from readers. And then we run a daily story on a high school athlete urinating on a baseball field during the National Anthem and the floodgates open. Such was the case with our Thursday story about a Powell Valley High School student in Big Stone Gap, Va. The sophomore and star quarterback, the son of a coach/physical education teacher, urinated in public last month on a $20 bet. What if this happened in our backyard, how do you think we should handle it?

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Baseball: Thursday and Friday’s first-round games

Question: What games do you want covered the most?

Thursday’s first-round games
Division 3

Diamond Ranch at Hemet, 3:15 p.m.
Colton at Charter Oak, 3:15 p.m.
Gahr at Walnut, 3:15 p.m.
Montebello at South Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Elsinore at Bonita, 3:15 p.m.
Division 5
San Jacinto at Sierra Vista, 3:15 p.m.
Paraclete at Gabrielino, 3:15 p.m.
South El Monte at Campbell Hall, 3:15 p.m.
La Puente at Lompoc Cabrillo, 3:15 p.m.

Friday’s first-round games
Division 2

Peninsula at Glendora, 3:15 p.m.
Palos Verdes at Damien, 3:15 p.m.
Division 4
Patriot at Bishop Amat, 3:15 p.m.
Barstow at Northview, 3:15 p.m.
San Dimas at Garey, 3:15 p.m.

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Softball: Thursday’s first-round games

Question: What are the most intriguing games to cover on Thursday?

Thursday’s first-round Softball Games
Division 3

Kaiser at Bonita, 3:15 p.m.
Quartz Hill at Glendora, 3:15 p.m.
Patriot at Ayala, 3:15 p.m.
Division 4
Rancho Alamitos at Bishop Amat, 3:15 p.m.
Division 5
Rowland at Whittier Christian, 3:15 p.m.
Temple City at West Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Pasadena Poly at San Dimas, 3:15 p.m.
Village Christian at Duarte, 3:15 p.m.
Azusa at South Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Covina at Mayfield, 3:15 p.m.
Northview at Calvary Chapel, 3:15 p.m.
Sierra Vista at La Canada, 3:15 p.m.
Division 6
Mary Star at South El Monte, 3:15 p.m.
Whitney at Arroyo, 3:15 p.m.

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Spring Football: Nogales coach Sebastian Hernandez has pleasant first impressions

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
First impressions aren’t everything when it comes to a football team, but new Nogales High School coach Sebastian Hernandez has liked what he’s seen from his players in their first week of spring practice. “The talent level is better than I thought when I first took the job,” Hernandez said. “I’m much more optimistic now. I thought there would be less talent judging from their record the past several years.” (To continue click thread)


Halftime use to be showtime at Nogales. Hernandez is trying to change that.
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Spring Football: Charter Oak’s Tanner Gibas one of the best long snappers in the country

By Aram Tolegian
Charter Oak long snapper Tanner Gibas won the National Kicking and Snapping Spring Event put on by Chris Sailer Kicking/Rubio Long Snapping in Las Vegas last weekend. Gibas, who is also expected to start at linebacker for the Chargers, beat out 79 other long snappers from 40 states to take home the prize. His time, from first movement to ball arriving at the punter, was .68 seconds. (To continue, click thread).

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