Bonita game story: The Bonita and Muir high school football teams entered Friday’s Southeast Division second-round playoff game playing their best ball of the season, and naturally, nothing was decided until the fourth quarter.

Fridays results
CIF-SS quarterfinals
Southeast Division
Bonita 49, Muir 25 — It was one of the ugliest, coldest and longest regulation game I’ve ever covered. There must have been more than 30 penalties and at least 20 against Muir alone. Bonita scored twice in the final minute to make the score look lopsided, but it was back-and-forth for most of the game. Muir’s Howard Vaughn scored on fourth and goal from the one to cut Bonita’s lead to 30-25 with 4:49 left, then Muir recovered the onside kick. But after Bonita’s K.C. Huth sacked Mustangs QB Jeffrey Davis for a loss, Muir threw a desperation pass on fourth-and-16 from their own 45 and didn’t get it, then drew an unsportsmanlike for throwing a helmet – which gave the Cats a first down at the Mustangs’ 30. Giomani Johnson scored two plays later on a 30-yard touchdown to make it 37-25, then Johnson scored again with eight seconds — his third touchdown of the fourth quarter to make it 43-25. Bonita scored again on the final play of the game with Muir trying to flea-flick the ball around to make something happen. Johnson rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns and QB Garrett Pendleton threw for 161 yards. Muir’s Davis passed for 118 yards and rushed for 50.
West Covina 47, Santa Fe 7 — The Chiefs were as close as 14-7 late in the first quarter, but stopping the Bulldogs four quarters seems impossible these days.

Mid-Valley Division
Village Christian 34, Rosemead 0 — If you thought Village Christian’s win over Azusa last week was a surprise, then you probably weren’t surprised this week to see how easily they disposed of the Panthers.
Whittier Christian 28, Covina 17 — You knew the Valle Vista league champions had a tough game on the road. The Heralds are no joke, a legitimate threat to win the division.
San Dimas 56, Maranatha 20 — The Saints are looking like last years championship team again, leading 42-0 at half. Next up, a rematch at home with Monrovia.
Inland Division
Chino Hills 45, Etiwanda 21 — The Huskies move on to take on top seed Corona Centennial, who many believe are the best team in all of Southern California.

CIF-SS Semifinals
Mid-Valley Division
Friday
Whittier Christian at Village Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Monrovia at San Dimas, 7 p.m.
Southeast Division
Friday
West Covina at Mayfair, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
La Serna at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Inland Division
Friday
Corona Centennial at Chino HIlls, 7 p.m.

The Inland Insider reports from Chino Hills’ win over Etiwanda, setting up the Huskies’ home game next week with powerful Corona Centennial.

Continue reading “Saturday Morning Quarterback: West Covina and Bonita take another step toward a mammoth rematch; San Dimas rolls out the black jerseys and wins big; Covina, Rosemead go down” »

Aram’s Turkey Day feature on Rosemead’s Matt Fregoso:The numbers don’t add up when it comes to Rosemead High School running back Matt Fregoso. Five feet seven and 145 pounds shouldn’t equal 2,336 yards and 28 touchdowns.

“I think the kids know what’s at stake. They hear about the Covina game every day. If you don’t play well, if you overlook, don’t play hard and lose focus, then you’re done. I don’t think we’re having any type of problem from a mental aspect.” — West Covina coach Mike Maggiore on facing the Chiefs.

By Aram Tolegian, staff writer
West Covina, the top seed in the Southeast Division, should get a bit more of a challenge Friday in the second round against Santa Fe. The Bulldogs (10-1) had little trouble with Bellflower last week, but Santa Fe brings a defense capable of giving West Covina some resistance, at least for a little while.
“They have a very tough defense,” Maggiore said of the Chiefs, who held Bonita and Charter Oak to season-low point totals this season. “They play extremely hard and they’re really well-coached. They play the run well, so it’s going to be a challenge for our guys.”

Continue reading “The Covina loss a constant reminder for No. 1 West Covina to stay focused and grounded with upset-minded Santa Fe coming to town Friday” »

LIVE BLOGGING: For all our Star-News and Tribune readers, Mike “The Cousin” Robledo will do his Coveritlive Blog on Friday at Muir. If you can’t make it Bearcats fans, we got it covered.

“There might be trouble swirling around the practice or during the game sometimes, but when it came time to play football it’s a community that respects the game. The kids in the community know when it comes to football, it’s all business.” Bonita coach Eric Podley on Muir, where he was the offensive coordinator on the 1989 co-championship team.

Above: Muir coach Ken Howard is in his seventh season, during which the Mustangs have won four Pacific League titles and are making their fourth quarterfinal appearance, although they’ve never been beyond that.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Bonita High School football coach Eric Podley doesn’t need a history lesson when it comes to the Bearcats’ opponent on Friday, Muir. After crushing California 51-6 in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs, the Bearcats (10-1) play at Muir (6-4) in the quarterfinals Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs knocked off La Mirada 33-14 for their sixth consecutive victory. (To continue, click thread).

Continue reading “Podley knows all about Muir, he was their offensive coordinator on ’89 championship team” »

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
After watching Village Christian knock off No. 1 seed Azusa, Rosemead High School football coach Matt Koffler is hoping his team won’t be next. The Panthers, fresh off their win over Temple City last Friday, visit the Crusaders in the second round of the Mid-Valley Division playoffs on Friday at Glendale High. Kickoff is 7 p.m. (to continue, click thread).

Continue reading “After Village Christian ended Azusa’s perfect season, what chance does Rosemead have?” »

From the Bulletin’s Mr. Clay Fowler: Chino Hills’ highly recruited defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu verbally committed to Oregon this morning, he confirmed after the Huskies won their playoff opener 70-42 over Corona Friday night. The 5-foot-10 180-pound senior chose Oregon among scholarship offers from most of the Pac-10 save UCLA and USC, according to scout.com. Ekpre-Olomu plays a variety of positions for Chino Hills, including wide receiver and running back but he set a school record with eight interceptions as a sophomore playing safety. Oregon plans to use him in the secondary, according to Ekpre-Olomu.

San Dimas stand-out hurdler and triple jumper Katherine Salcido will be signing her letter of intent with UCLA in February, this newspaper has learned. Salcido will compete in the heptathlon for the Bruins. She chose UCLA over Stanford. Not a bad pair of choices.