1. Bishop Amat (5-0) – Lancers closed up shop by halftime against previously unbeaten Damien and Cathedral. They’re still No. 4 in the Pac-5 poll, and are outscoring their opponents by a 26-point margin, averaging 34 points while allowing just eight per game. Until Bishop Amat loses, there is no debate for No. 1, not unless Chino Hills can replay their 24-12 loss to Corona Santiago.
2. Chino Hills (4-1) — The Huskies have done something that West Covina, Diamond Ranch, South Hills and Charter Oak have been unable to do in recent years. They scheduled up and won. Anyone can make a tough schedule, but doing something with it, as in wins over Tesoro and Redlands East Valley, is why the Huskies climbed to No. 3 in the Inland Poll.
3. Bonita (4-0) — The much anticipated season debut of Garrett Pendleton, injured prior to the season, takes place this week at Diamond Bar. The ‘Cats have done fine without him, partly because of a much improved defense, but now lets see if Pendleton can shake the rust and make the ‘Cats a real contender in the Hacienda.
4. West Covina (4-1) — The Bulldogs are scoring at will, 35 on Venice, 42 on South Hills, 33 on Glendora and 41 in the Hacienda league opener against Walnut. As long as their defense stays consistent, nobody left on the schedule can slow these guys down. Can they?
5. Glendora (4-1) — Can use the bye week after going to Lynwood and getting it done. Next week we begin to find out how the Tartans will fare in the Baseline.
6. Charter Oak (3-2) — QB Josiah Thropay did enough to help the Chargers over Santa Fe, but the credit goes to their defense, earning a big shutout. The Chargers have a week off before the Sierra, with starting QB Travis Santiago set to return after an ankle sprain.
7. Claremont (4-1) — The Wolfpack have a week off, then open the Sierra against Chino Hills. The way these two have played, won’t be a surprise if the outcome eventually decides the league title.
8. Rowland (4-1) – The Raiders find out what their made of at home against West Covina on Friday. The question is, can they score enough to keep up with the run-happy Bulldogs.
9. Azusa (4-0) – Any way you slice it, the Aztecs are averaging 35 points while allowing just 2.5 points per game. That’s a 33 point margin, which also includes three shutouts.
10. Damien (3-1) – Solid win over El Dorado. Except for their huge stumble against No. 1 Bishop Amat, the Spartans have been impressive, which includes a win at Diamond Ranch.

The Rest: 11. Ayala (4-1), 12. San Dimas (3-2), 13. Covina (4-1), 14. Arroyo (3-1), 15. Diamond Ranch (2-3), 16. South Hills (1-3); 17. Diamond Bar (4-1). 18. Walnut (2-2), 19. Wilson (3-1), 20. Sierra Vista (4-0), 21. Baldwin Park (1-4), 22. Rosemead (2-2), 23. Pomona (3-2), 24. La Puente (2-2), 25. Ganesha (2-2), 26. Nogales (1-4), 27. El Monte (1-3); 28. Los Altos (0-5), 29. Gladstone (1-3), 30. South El Monte (1-3), 31. Mountain View (2-2), 32. Northview (0-4), 33. Workman (1-3), 34. Bassett (1-3), 35. Duarte (0-3)

More on Debate: In our Bishop Amat, Chino Hills debate, Aram also said there’s an “argument” over who has the toughest division in Southern California, the Inland or Pac-5. At the beginning of the season Aram said the Pac-5 is the toughest division in the country, and with three leagues in the MaxPreps’ top ten leagues in America rankings, he’s probably right. So why now is there an “argument” or “debate” over the best division, Inland or Pac-5? For MaxPreps top ten ranked divisions in the country, click thread…

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If Mater Dei wants to challenge whether it’s constitutional for the CIF to deny eligibility because a student transferred for athletic reasons, bring it on. That’s a legitimate, worthy debate. But the suit filed last week is pure fantasy.

Sondheimer also wrote: One of the athletes involved, Todd Hunt, a transfer from a school in Connecticut, has a CIF appeal hearing scheduled for Tuesday. He has been seeking a hardship waiver of transfer rules, and his story is sad and compelling. He had a brother stabbed to death. The police chief in his hometown of Norwalk, Conn., has written a letter indicating that Hunt’s life could be in jeopardy if he returned to the area. That’s a clear hardship to me. But Hunt moved in with the family of Mater Dei quarterback Max Wittek, who he knew in Connecticut, and I assume Staunton decided it was an athletically motivated decision.

Robledo: This is one of my beef’s with the “athletically motivated” rule and how CIF interprets it. I’m assuming CIF felt Hunt’s move was in “part” athletically motivated because he knew the QB from his hometown and moved in with him. But shouldn’t the fact his brother was killed and the police chief is on record saying his life could be in danger if he remained outweigh whether or not CIF believes it’s an athletically motivated transfer? Now, don’t feel sorry for Mater Dei, but these decisions by CIF continue to amaze. Not surprising is the letter below, CIF upset than anyone would dare challenge one of their decisions. It’s about time, it’s not about knowing what the policies are, as Staunton states, it’s about how CIF chooses to enforce and interpret them is what upsets so many schools. Staunton also suggests the section is available to hear any complaints or allegations. The problem is sometimes is takes forever for CIF to set hearing dates, so the kids suffer on the sidelines without their day in court. Well, now, Mater Dei has sped up that process, what’s wrong with that?

CIF issues a press release as it relates to the lawsuit: The CIF Southern Section office expresses its disappointment at the filing of a lawsuit by the Diocese of Orange contending unfair treatment of Mater Dei High School. “Mater Dei has been a long standing member of CIF-Southern Section and is clearly aware of our policies,” stated CIF Southern Section Commissioner Dr. Jim Staunton. “If Mater Dei had concerns about eligibility decisions, they had several channels of communication to express those concerns. Why they did not exercise their options as members is baffling.” The Section maintains open lines of communication with all member schools including Mater Dei High School yet this lawsuit is the first indication of any dissatisfaction of the application of the rules. During the history of the organization including the sixty years Mater Dei High School has been a member of CIF-Southern Section, the rules have been enforced and applied without prejudice or malice against any of its members. The Section is confused that one of the most successful school athletic programs in the Section would make a claim of disproportionate treatment by the organization. The Office is available to hear any complaints or allegations, as is the Southern Section Executive Committee, yet the Diocese of Orange has filed this suit without prior communication to the Southern Section Office. “While the CIF-SS never wishes to be involved in litigation with one of our member schools, we look forward to demonstrating the fair and equal application of our rules on behalf of all our membership,” added Staunton.

This was a news story posted in today’s Tribune.
Covina High School pranksters touched a nerve Friday when they depicted Northview High School’s starting quarterback in a coffin following three recent deaths that left the Vikings community in mourning. Northview supporters called for an apology after a photo of the prank circulated on the Internet and through text messages. However, the prank didn’t spill over to the game and an administrator doesn’t expect it to create any lasting tensions. “We don’t believe there was anything malicious in any way,” said Bill Brown, an assistant superintendent at Covina-Valley Unified School District.
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Tomorrow, Aram and I will discuss Rowland vs. West Covina

Steve and I will go head-to-head in Tribskin Pick’em throughout the season for our annual dinner bet. I lead the overall series, two years to one.
Last Week: Robledo (15-5); Ramirez (15-5).
Season: Robledo (82-28); Ramirez (77-33).

Last week: We’re both losing too many games each week, part of the unpredictability with so much parity in the Valley, probably the most we’ve seen in a while. Steve and I both missed taking South Hills over Monrovia and Rosemead over San Gabriel. Steve had a chance to gain ground, because I also lost taking Diamond Bar over Diamond Ranch, Workman over Gladstone and Pomona over Baldwin Park (what was I thinking). While Steve picked up those three on me, he gave it right back by taking South El Monte over Temple City, Ayala over St. Paul and Bassett over Ganesha (why?). What an ugly 15-5 week from both of us.

This week: Only 18 games on the schedule, plenty of teams using their bye week after zero week games. The entire Sierra League is off with the exception of Damien playing a non-league game against undefeated JSerra (4-0), but the game of the week without a doubt is West Covina at Rowland. The problem I have with Rowland is the same with everyone else in league, nobody is going to stop the Bulldogs’ running game. You have to outscore them, and nobody is going to outscore them, simple as that. Sierra Vista and Azusa shapes up as a game of the week, both 4-0 and 1-0, both ranked in the Mid-Valley top ten, but that’s all on paper. The Aztecs will probably win by three touchdowns or more. Though I think Sierra Vista will do enough to finish third in the Montview when all is said and done, Azusa is too tall a task the way they’re playing. How about Baldwin Park at San Dimas. The Braves can go from the outhouse to the penthouse just like that, but don’t bank on it. I’m taking San Dimas, using the stupid analogy that San Dimas beat Monrovia, Monroiva beat South Hills, and South Hills beat Baldwin Park. Fair enough? Wilson’s league opener against Covina is interesting. Colts QB Billy Livingston is banged up, but he will play. In a toss-up, I’m going with the team that beat West Covina … Covina. I’m still not on the Ranch bandwagon, guessing they will have a letdown and Walnut takes advantage.
Note: Steve will update his picks this afternoon.

This week’s games and predictions.
Friday
Bonita at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Bonita); Ramirez (Bonita)
Diamond Ranch at Walnut, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Walnut); Ramirez (Walnut)
West Covina at Rowland, 7 p.m. — Robledo (WCovina); Ramirez (Rowland)
Bassett at Duarte, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Bassett); Ramirez (Bassett)
Sierra Vista vs. Azusa at Citrus College, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Azusa); Ramirez (Azusa)
Workman at La Puente, 7 p.m. — Robledo (La Puente); Ramirez (La Puente)
Baldwin Park at San Dimas, 7 p.m. — Robledo (SDimas); Ramirez (San Dimas)
Covina vs. Wilson at Covina District Stadium, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Covina); Ramirez (Covina)
Northview at Pomona, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Pomona); Ramirez (Northview)
Bell Gardens at South El Monte, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Bell Gardens); Ramirez (Bell Gardens)
Chino at El Monte, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Chino); Ramirez (Chino)
JSerra at Damien, 7 p.m. — Robledo (JSerra); Ramirez (JSerra)
La Canada at Arroyo, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Arroyo); Ramirez (Arroyo)
Rosemead at Temple City, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Rosemead); Ramirez (Rosemead)
Venice at Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (BAmat); Ramirez (Bishop Amat)
South Hills at Los Osos, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Los Osos); Ramirez (Los Osos)
Gladstone at Ganesha, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Ganesha); Ramirez (Ganesha)Saturday
Mountain View vs. Bellarmine-Jefferson at Burroughs, 7 p.m. — Robledo (MView); Ramirez (MView)

Because of tight deadlines and no working area at Cathedral, correspondent Scott French had plenty of leftover material From Bishop Amat’s 53-6 win Friday to improve to 5-0. Here is what he sent for you to soak up and digest…

Wallace watch: Four passes thrown to Wallace Gonzalez. Two were rainbow lobs that got past him, one a bullet that he dropped, and the other — the only completion — went for 39 yards. He also was flagged for two of the eight penalties. Brock Booth, cleared last week, also played.

Bishop Amat coach Steve Hagerty on Gonzalez/Booth: “What I think happens is as we move into our league season, maybe there’s more to defend, maybe there’s more that teams have to pay attention to, but I don’t think tonight was really anything. They’re rusty,. It’s like game one for them. They’ve got to get caught up quick.”

QB Rio Ruiz on Gonzalez/Booth: “We’re going to be a team to be reckoned with. Wallace and Brock add a big pass threat for defenses.”

Hagerty on Rio Ruiz: “Mentally he’s a lot sharper than (at the start of the season). He’s making good choices, and he’s putting us in good situations, which to the subtle eye you’re not going to notice, but it’s just going to look like he handed off, but what he did is he changed a play where they overadjusted to something, and he got us in a good one. He’s starting to pick that stuff up.”

Hagerty on Jalen Moore: “He’s deceivingly strong, but he also can run the ball well. We kid him because he thinks he’s a scatback and he makes too many cuts, when he’s a much more punishing ballcarrier than he knows. So we like him getting vertical on the field with his shoulder pads forward and tilted much more than working side to side. That’s more Zach (Shay)’s game. We love that Jalen is emerging into what we all thought he could be. But we’ve got a long way ahead of us.”

Rio Ruiz on Jalen Moore: “Jalen’s just having a helluva year. He’s doing so well. … You’ve got to give credit to the line. We reward their dirty work with touchdowns.”

Defense: Cathedral QB Hayden Rettig was 13 of 35 for 120 yards with three interceptions (two by Ajee Montes, who returned one 34 yards for a TD). Rettig had just 46 yards passing at halftime (on 8 of 23) and 48 until the final play of the third quarter.

Hagerty on the pass defense: “We haven’t defended the pass real well in the past, but I think we geared up tonight because we knew they were going to throw it, and I think we did a much better job.”

For the very best area cross country news follow Bob Ramsey at SGVtrackandfield.net: With this week’s cluster meets and many teams competing on the weekend, almost every SGV Cross Country team competed this week. The top performance came from the top-ranked Claremont boys, who set a course record in dominating their first Sierra League meet. The Bonita girls and Rowland boys showed their strength in the new Hacienda League. Covina won both sides of the enlarged Valle Vista League, while the Montview League was paced by La Puente (b) and Sierra Vista (g).

Rankings: Check out this link, ranks top boys and girls cross country runners in the San Gabriel Valley

2010 Cross Country Calendar

SGV Boys Leaders
1. 15:46 Anthony Castro (Sr-Glendora) – Top Speed: 3m, deep grass, rolling
2. 15:11 Dillon Nobbs (Fr-Bonita) – Stauffer: 3 miles, flat, mostly paved
3. 15:55 Kelly Hernandez (Sr-GHS) – Top Speed
4. 16:04 Paul Ross (Sr-Claremont) – Sierra #1: 5k, mostly paved, rolling
5. 16:04 Colin Domonoske (Sr-CHS) – Sierra #1
6. 16:10 A.K. Metoyer (Sr-CHS) – Sierra #1
7. 16:14 Henry Falotico (Sr-CHS) – Sierra #1
8. 16:14 David Galvez (So-Rowland) – Hacienda #1: Top Speed Course
9. 16:27 Tom Ebiner (Jr-Damien) – Sierra #1
10. 16:20 Moses Baiden (Jr-DHS) – Top Speed

SGV Girls Leaders
1. 18:23 Lauren Justus (Sr-Glendora) – Top Speed: 3m, deep grass, rolling
2. 17:46 Marissa Scott (So-Bonita) – Stauffer: 3 miles, flat, mostly paved
3. 19:12 Alex Borunda (Sr-South Hills) – Top Speed
4. 18:23 Mikayla Flores (Fr-BHS) – Stauffer
5. 18:24 Lexie Jackson (So-BHS) – Stauffer
6. 19:21 Vianca Holguin (Sr-SHHS) – Top Speed
7. 19:37 Merin Arft (Fr-Claremont) – Sierra #1: 5k, mostly paved, rolling
8. 19:48 Carly Lake (Jr-Charter Oak) – Sierra #1
9. 19:43 Baily Sanin (So-CHS) – Sierra #1
10. 20:00 Taylor Hebb (Sr-St. Lucy’s) – Sierra #1
Note: This list does not include runners from Ayala, Claremont or Chino HIlls.

The Nogales High School football boosters are seeking a $16,000 refund from the Rowland Unified School District for payments they made to help fund the salary of a sports trainer. District spokeswoman Gina Ward said a response to the boosters’ demand made by attorney Domonic Chacon is forthcoming, but Chacon expects the matter could end up in litigation. Principal Nancy Padilla didn’t respond to the initial refund request.

Anything and anyone you want to talk about: Roddy Layton conveniently didn’t return phone calls last week, probably not wanting to hype the Panthers-Brahmas game any more than he already had. But he was in fully Roddy mode after Friday’s win, along with other quotables from the weekend.

“We’ve got their posters that they put up around campus that says, ‘Rivalry Week: Diamond Bar vs. Diamond Ranch.’ Diamond Bar High is our rivalry and they know that we’re their rival.” – Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton after 41-0 win over Diamond Bar.

“When asked why he felt Diamond Bar was averse to playing his team for so long, Layton simply turned and looked at the scoreboard, which was now dark but once read 41-0.” — Aram Tolegian in Saturday’s column.

“It’s not rocket science. If you hold on to the ball and create turnovers, you will win the football game.” — Ganesha coach David Fleming after 69-14 win over Bassett.

“League is a whole new season. We still have a lot of work to do but I’m proud of our kids. They deserved this win.” — Baldwin Park coach James Heggins after 33-7 win over Pomona, the Braves first after 0-4 start in VVL opener.

“I hope they don’t think we were trying to run it up. We’ve got a (heck) of a ballgame coming up next week against West Covina and we needed to get some work.” — Rowland coach Craig Snyder following the Raiders’ 44-6 win over Los Altos.

“We wanted to come out and make a statement. The kids needed to know that they could compete and win at this level against the best. I thought we took it to them and played physically.” Chino Hills coach Derek Bub after 14-3 win over Redlands East Valley.

“(Wide Receiver) Andrew Aguirre, with his speed, was the different tonight with some big plays. But we have to get a lot better on offense or else it’s going to be a long road for us, no question about it.” – Damien coach Greg Gano following 27-7 win over El Dorado.

“We play Bye High School, and we usually beat them.” — Bonita coach Eric Podley in response to Aram’s question of “Who do you guys have this week?”

“Who is going to score more points tonight, Diamond Ranch or Bishop Amat? Panthers just took a 41-40 lead. Now I know why they went for two.” — Commenter Chaleko on Coveritlive with Mike trying to make sense of Friday’s blowouts during the live Q@A.

This week’s games
Friday
South Hills at Los Osos, 7 p.m.
Bonita at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m.
Diamond Ranch at Walnut, 7 p.m.
West Covina at Rowland, 7 p.m.
Bassett at Duarte, 7 p.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Azusa at Citrus College, 7 p.m.
Workman at La Puente, 7 p.m.
Baldwin Park at San Dimas, 7 p.m.
Covina vs. Wilson at Covina District Stadium, 7 p.m.
Northview at Pomona, 7 p.m.
Bell Gardens at South El Monte, 7 p.m.
Chino at El Monte, 7 p.m.
JSerra at Damien, 7 p.m.
La Canada at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
Rosemead at Temple City, 7 p.m.
Venice at Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m.
Gladstone at Ganesha, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Mountain View vs. Bellarmine-Jefferson at Burroughs, 7 p.m.

Friday’s results
Bishop Amat 53, Cathedral 6 – For those of you who beat the parking situation at Cathedral, look at the offense roll now. Rio Ruiz threw for 245 yards in the first half, then basically shut it down. Jalen Moore rushed for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Lancers scored on their first five possessions. I’m starting to believe their No. 4 ranking in the Pac-5 is well deserved.
Chino Hills 14, Redlands East Valley 3 — This is probably the most surprising result of the night. Let’s make this clear, there is a huge gap between the Huskies and the rest of the Sierra.
Diamond Ranch 41, Diamond Bar 0 – And I thought the Hacienda was coming down to West Covina, Bonita and Rowland. Wow, Roddy’s Panthers flip the switch again.
Rowland 44, Los Altos 6 – Not a surprise, the Raiders expected a win, a blowout is just a bonus.
Damien 27, El Dorado 7 – Impressive after 42-7 loss to Bishop Amat. What do you make of it, after all, the Spartans are 3-1. And that victory over Diamond Ranch looks much better after tonight.
West Covina 41, Walnut 24 – The Mustangs hung for a while, but the Bulldogs eventually pulled away.
Azusa 28, La Puente 0 — Three shutouts in four games while outscoring their opponents 141-10. You want to say they have a weak schedule. I say talk to the scoreboard.
Ganesha 69, Bassett 14 – I wonder if Azusa is looking at the new tenant in the Monview and going, hmmmm.
Gladstone 39, Workman 7 – With only two guaranteed Montview playoff spots, every win is precious.
Sierra Vista 41, Duarte 6 – Don’t look now, but the Dons are 4-0, just like Azusa heading into next week’s meeting at Citrus.
Covina 14, Northview 11 — Raise your hand if you thought the Colts would win in more convincing fashion. Maybe the rivalry had something to do with it.
Baldwin Park 33, Pomona 7 – This is exactly why I picked the 0-4 Braves to finish second in the Valle Vista League. You knew they were better than their results had shown.
San Dimas 40, Nogales 12 – Saints warming up for next week’s showdown with Baldwin Park.
Wilson 26, El Monte 20 -- A great start for the Wildcats heading into the Valle Vista next week.
Mountain View 40, Keppel 0 – Exactly what you expected, right.
San Gabriel 48, Rosemead 20 – Impressive win by the Matadors; a scratch-your-head loss by the Panthers.
Charter Oak 17, Santa Fe 0 — A shutout brings back memories of the two previous years. Congrats to QB Josiah Thropay, whose long awaited debut was a winning one.
St. Paul 28, Ayala 6 – The Bulldogs finally played a tester, and the results weren’t that good.
Temple City 27, South El Monte 6 – With the way the Rams have struggled, would classify it as a mild surprise.

The Inland Insider’s post-game wrapp-up and interviews following Chino Hills’ huge win over Redlands East Valley.

Tribune highlights and interviews following Azusa’s 28-0 win over La Puente

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Players don’t understand enough to say anything. Parents are too afraid to say anything. And, despite legislating everything from practice time to concussions, the CIF refuses to do anything.