“In this game, some of our runs that have gone for 60 yards will go for 10 or 15. And that’s fine, too. That just forces us to put drives together. Their speed is definitely a factor. We caught Bonita’s kids from behind a couple times, but we’re not going to catch Diamond Ranch’s kids if they get in the open.” — West Covina coach Mike Maggiore on facing Diamond Ranch’s speed.

By Aram Tolegian
West Covina coach Mike Maggiore doesn’t think playing what amounts to a second consecutive Hacienda League championship game Friday will be too much for his team’s emotions to handle. The Bulldogs, fresh off their rout of previously unbeaten Bonita, hits the road Friday to take on Diamond Ranch, which like West Covina is 4-0 in league.

“I wouldn’t think it will be a problem, but you never really know until the ball’s kicked off,” Maggiore said. “I think our kids know how important the game is. You only get to play one game a week, so you should be up for it.”

Diamond Ranch presents a different matchup issue for the Bulldogs that Bonita did not — speed. Maggiore knows that the chances of his skill players breaking off long touchdown runs against the speedy Panthers aren’t as good as they were last week.

“In this game, some of our runs that have gone for 60 yards will go for 10 or 15,” he said. “And that’s fine, too. That just forces us to put drives together.
“Their speed is definitely a factor. We caught Bonita’s kids from behind a couple times, but we’re not going to catch Diamond Ranch’s kids if they get in the open.”