December 2010 Archives

By Fred J. Robledo
In terms of history, the 57th annual Covina Christmas Tournament has it all.
Legendary Bill Walton was named the tournament MVP for Helix High in 1969 and other tournament MVPs have included Byron Scott (Morningside 1979), Mike Smith (Los Altos, 1982), Stacey Augmon (Muir, 1985), and two-time winner Cameron Murray (Glendora, 1993-94). (To continue, click thread).

Above: Walnut's Bryan Gholar fights for the rebound with Damien Spartans' J P Chakbazof

Nogales Tournament semifinals: Damien High School's boys basketball team had too much experience, too much height and played its best defensive game of the season as it knocked off Walnut 57-32 in a semifinal game of the Nogales Tournament on Wednesday. Damien will face Don Lugo, a 67-63 winner over Diamond Ranch, tonight at 8 in the championship game.

Covina Tournament semifinals: Bonita High School overwhelmed Bishop Amat on Wednesday night to easily advance to the championship game of the 57th Covina Christmas Tournament, 64-37. In tonight's title game, the Bearcats (12-2) will take on Chino Hills, a 61-53 winner over Rowland.

Other scores of note ...
Beach Ball Classic: C.J. Cooper and Grant Jerrett scored 14 points each, but it wasn't enough against power Prestonwood Christian, losing in the second round at Myrtle Beach, 76-63.
Century Tournament: Glendora lost for the first time this season, falling to Valencia 53-36 in the third round of the Century Tournament to drop to 12-1.
Ontario Christian Tournament: Baldwin Park is playing for its third straight Ontario Christian title. They will face Village Christian in tonight's championship at 7:30 p.m.

Girls Basketball
Nike Tournament of Champions, AZ.: . -- Bonita's Madison Zylstra scored a team-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough. The Bearcats fell to Arizona's Apollo, 67-65 in the semifinals of the Tournament of champions. It was the 'Cats' first loss, they drop to 11-1
Ayala Lady Hoops tournament: Bishop Amat advances to the semifinals with a 59-58 quarterfinal win over Rialto, and will now face powerful Etiwanda in the semifinals tonight.
Rowland Tournament: Wilson and West Covina survived round-robin play and will meet in tonight's championship at 8 p.m.

Girls Soccer: Glendora has moved into the semifinals of the North Orange County Tournament at Sunny Hills by defeating Los Altos, 0-0 (won 5-3 on PKs) and a 1-0 win over Brea Olinda.

Tonight's championships
Covina Tournament
Bonita vs. Chino Hills, 8:30 p.m.
Rowland Tournament
Damien vs. Don Lugo, 8 p.m.

FOR WEDNESDAY BOXSCORES, CLICK THREAD

Above: Northview's Treavon Francis, 15, covers his head after he misses the final shot to beat Rowland at the end of the game during the quarterfinals of the Covina boys basketball tournament

Boys Basketball: Glendora continues its magic, improves to 12-0 with a 49-44 victory over Tustin in the second round of the Century Tournament, Nick Colletta the leading scorer again with 20 points. Rowland's Sharif Watson scored 18 points in a 46-45 victory over Northview to advance to the semifinals of the Covina tournament.

Girls Basketball: Bishop Amat and Bonita are on a torrid pace. Leticia Gallarza scored 24 points to lead the Lancers to a 56-53 win over Rancho Cucamonga in the second round of the Ayala tournament. Bonita, meanwhile, remained undefeated in the Nike Tournament of champions in Arizona. Nikki Wheatley scored a team-high 21 points in a 59-37 second-round win over Oakridge.

Boys Basketball
Nogales Tournament Quarterfinals
Damien 62, La Serna 45
Walnut 55, Cathedral 52
Diamond Ranch 71, Claremont 60
Don Lugo 67, Nogales 58
Wednesday's semifinals
Damien vs. Walnut, 6:30 p.m.
Diamond Ranch vs. Don Lugo, 8 p.m.

Covina Tournament semifinals
Wednesday's semifinals
Rowland (3) vs. Chino Hills (2), 7 p.m.
Bonita (1) vs. Bishop Amat (4), 8:30 p.m.

FOR TUESDAY'S BOXSCORES, CLICK THREAD

Lutheran wins: After returning five starters that won the CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA and state Division 5 championship, the La Verne Lutheran boys basketball team searched for the best tournaments it could find, leaving after Christmas for the prestigious Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Trojans (2-0) opened the tournament on Tuesday in survive-and-advance fashion, edging Illinois' St. Rita 73-71 behind a huge effort from Loyola Marymount-bound senior Bruce English. (To continue click thread)

The defending California Division 5 state champion La Verne Lutheran boys basketball team is in South Carolina for its opening game in the Beach Ball Classic against St. Rita of Illinois this afternoon at 2:15 p.m. in the first round.

For those who want to watch the game, it is available on a live stream from the tournament by clicking here.

For a look at the tournament bracket, click here.

The Tribune all-area teams for the fall are set and ready to go next week with the exception of football, which will be published later this month in our first-ever PrepXtra Magazine edition. We had planned on running the football all-area on Jan. 6, but that date has been pushed back to accommodate our advertisers. We do not have a date finalized as of yet, but it will be later this month. I will let you know when I get a firm publication date.

TUESDAY, JAN. 4
Girls Volleyball
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5
Boys Water Polo
THURSDAY, JAN. 6
Cross Country
FRIDAY, JAN. 7
Girls Tennis

Above: Let's just say the Tribune football magazine is on rain delay ...

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Monday's boxscores, click thread.

TONIGHT'S NOGALES BOYS BASKETBALL
TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
Top Bracket
Damien vs. La Serna, 6:30 p.m.
Cathedral vs. Walnut, 3:30 p.m.
Bottom Bracket
Claremont vs. Diamond Ranch, 5 p.m.
Don Lugo vs. Nogales, 8 p.m.

Check out this high school dunk contest, you won't be disappointed. It's from last week's City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. It's one of the best you will ever see.

Covina High School boys basketball tournament
Sierra Vista 65, Los Altos 54: "After three days off, that was great on our part," Sierra Vista coach Herman Flores said. "I wasn't sure how the kids were going to play. They tell me we're the team to beat in league. I don't know if that's right, but we'll be ready."

Tuesday's quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Northview vs. Rowland (3), 4 p.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Chino Hills (2), 5:30 p.m.
Lower bracket
Charter Oak vs. Bonita (1), 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat (4) vs. Covina, 8:30 p.m.
Consolation games
Lou Dantzler vs. Chaffey, 10 a.m.
Los Altos vs. Wilson, 11:30 a.m.
California vs. Arroyo, 1 p.m.
South Hills vs. Alta Loma, 2:30 p.m.

Hope everyone enjoys Christmas and the weekend with their families. And a special thanks to all of you for contributing to the blogs and making the San Gabriel Valley a fun high school sports experience. I will be back on Monday reporting from the Covina High Christmas tournament. Until then, can we get a Lakers win on Christmas?

The Tribune's PrepXtra 2010 All-Area football team will be published on Jan. 6. In the meantime, here are some bests from 2010, including the top three teams in the final top ten poll that will be released later, to the projected top three in 2011.

Below: You haven't seen this, 15 minutes of raw footage of West Covina's 37-33 win over Bonita for the Southeast title

Best teams
1. West Covina (13-1) - After the Bulldogs beat Rowland 41-17, coach Maggiore said after this should have been the season they took on Bishop Amat. He certainly had the athletes, and they were clutch when they needed to be, rallying to beat Bonita in the championship to claim the Southeast title, finishing the season with 13 straight wins. Don't know if they could have beaten Amat or Chino Hills, but they were certainly capable.
2. Chino Hills (10-3) - The Huskies were the top choice on Maxpreps, beating Tesoro (the same Tesoro that beat Amat in the playoffs), Redlands East Valley, Etiwanda and winning the Sierra League. But their best game came in a 42-23 loss to Centennial in the Inland semifinals that was much closer than the score indicated.
3. Bishop Amat (9-2) -- Far and away the top team after starting 9-0, but losing the Serra League title game to Alemany and falling in the first-round of the Pac-5 playoffs as a fourth-seed was the worst two weeks in the coach Hagerty era.

Most improved
1. Bonita - Biggest winner, going from 3-8 to 12-2 and a spot in the Southeast title game.
2. Covina -- Won the Valle Vista League in a year most thought Baldwin Park and San Dimas would fight for the title. The Colts finished 10-2 and beat West Covina ... not bad after going 5-6 the year before.
3. Claremont -- They were neck and neck with both above after starting 7-1 a year after finishing 5-5. But they lost their last three games to finish 7-4.

Biggest disappointments
1. South Hills - They were in trouble before they got to the Sierra League, losing to West Covina, Monrovia and others. They finish 3-8 and miss the playoffs a year after winning the San Antonio League and finishing 10-3.
2. Rowland - With QB Michael Ball back his senior year, many thought the Raiders would contend for the Hacienda League and Southeast title after going 8-3 the year before. But they finished 4-6, missing the playoffs entirely.
3. Baldwin Park - You thought a team with two division one signees on defense would do better than 5-6. They underachieved all season, losing in the first round of the Mid-Valley playoffs.

Most surprising players
1. Vinny Venegas, Covina -- On a team that surprised many, Venegas was the biggest surprise of all, turning into one of the area's best all-around players. Not just a threat at wide receiver, but he can do everything, and should be one of the most exciting players returning in 2011.
2. Jalen Moore, Bishop Amat -- The biggest pressure spot in the Valley is not at QB at Bishop Amat, it's at running back, where you follow in the footsteps of Bienemy, McCutcheon, Brown, Wagner, McCleskey, Sermons, etc. The junior was the Lancers' best playmaker, earning Serra first-team honors.
3. Matt Fregoso, Rosmead - The running back was among the section leaders, rushing for 2,458 yards and 22 touchdowns, an average of 204 yards a game to lead the Valley.

Biggest upsets
1. Covina 27, West Covina 20 -- The Bulldogs dominated for 3 1/2 quarters, but the last five minutes of the opening game of 2010 proved to be the one blemish on a 13-1 record for the Bulldogs. Each week Covina's upset grew more impressive, all the way to the Bulldogs' title game. People are still wondering how the Colts did it.
2. Village Christian 31, Azusa 24 - Statistically, the Aztecs finished one of the most dominating 10-0 campaigns in history, boasting six shutouts and allowing just 30 points all season, earning the top seed in the Mid-Valley Division playoffs, then losing in the first round.
3. Tesoro 31, Bishop Amat 21 -- Considering the Lancers were the fourth seed and hadn't lost a home game at Kiefer since 2007, it was shocking to see Tesoro win a playoff game at Amat in front of another enormous crowd.

Best teams to watch for in 2011.
1. Bishop Amat -- With Rio Ruiz at QB and Zach Shay and Jalen Moore in the backfield, you have the core back on a team that averaged 35 points. The road game at Servite in week two should give us a sneak previews of things to come.
2. West Covina -- Chris Solomon, the MVP of the Hacienda League, is back along with several returners. They do have to replace George Johnson at quarterback, but West Covina has more athletes than any other public school.
3. Charter Oak -- With Aaren Vaughs and Kurt Scoby in the backfield and a year more mature, look for the Chargers to go back to pounding the ball like the championship years. With Travis Santiago back at QB, they should be favored to win the Sierra League.

And finally, best agony of defeat shot ...

This is for the bloggers who say I post too much Amat stuff .. Shay was awesome before he sat out the last five games with an ankle sprain ... Yeah, he left a big what if?

MaxPreps doesn't have a widget for soccer, so I created our own MaxPreps made easy, but coaches need to update MaxPreps -- too many are not doing so. I will resume top ten rankings in January and plan on covering plenty of league games

Todd Scoring watch: Northview's Khalalah Todd leads the area in scoring once again, and is the East San Gabriel Valley's all-time scoring champion. Todd scored 30 goals as a freshman, seven during an injury riddled sophomore season and 47 as a junior. She has 19 goals this season for a total of 103 career goals. Todd needs 33 more to crack the Southern Section all-time top ten list.
Fred's note: What you must understand is that most of the records happened during the 1980s and 90s when there was much less parity. Since the 2000 season, or the modern high school girls soccer era, only two players have scored more than 136 goals or more in a career.

CIF-SS CAREER SCORING LEADERS
No. Player/School Years
288 Erin Martin, Temple City 1989-93
225 Carin Jennings, Palos Verdes 1979-83
191 Shannon Maddock, Torrance 1983-87
182 Traci Arkenberg, Peninsula 1991-94
165 Ruth Van't Land, Ontario Christian 1993-97
163 Stephanie Lemburg, Frazier Mountain 1997-00
140 Yvonne Vasquez, Santa Fe 2001-05
137 Delores Browning, Mayfair 1991-95
136 Kristin Harkins, La Quinta/Westminster 1983-87
136 Gina Longo, St. Anthony 1997-00

Boys Top Scoers
1. Josh Luevanos, Glendora, 10 goals, 9 games
2. Leonardo Grigg, Bonita, 7 goals, 9 games
3. Neil Ignacio, Diamond Bar, 6 goals, 4 games
4. Jimmy Camarena, Northview, 5 goals, 8 games
5t. Erick Hernandez, Bassett, 4 goals, 2 games
5t. Hugo Lepe, Claremont, 4 goals, 7 games

Girls Top Scorers
1. Khalalah Todd, Northview, 19 goals, 9 games
2. April Juarez, Bishop Amat, 17 goals, 12 games
3. Amie Jepsen, Glendora, 11 goals, 8 games
4. Kathleen Zamora, Bishop Amat, 8 goals, 11 games
5. Jessica Lopez, Sierra Vista, 8 goals, 9 games

Boys Soccer standings, schedules, leaders
Baseline League
Del Rey League
Hacienda League
Mission Valley League
Montview League
Sierra League
Valle Vista League

Girls Soccer standings, schedules, leaders
Baseline League
Del Rey League
Hacienda League
Mission Valley League
Montview League
Sierra League
Valle Vista League

This is your MaxPreps made easy for Tribune area boys and girls basketball teams. This is an easy way to look at records, roster and to compare area leaders. In January, we will return to our own weekly rankings.

The Covina High School Boys Christmas Tournament begins on Monday, here are the first-round pairings.
Monday's games
Northview vs. Douglass, 10 a.m.
Chaffey vs. Rowland, 11:30 a.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Los Altos, 1 p.m.
Wilson vs. Chino Hills, 2:30 p.m.
Charter Oak vs. California, 4 p.m.
Bonita vs. Arroyo, 5:30 p.m.
Bishop Amat vs. South Hills, 7 p.m.
Alta Loma vs. Covina, 8:30 p.m.

Boys leading scorers
1. Daniel Rodriguez, Bishop Amat, 19.9 ppg
2. Tyler Hill, Bishop Amat, 17.8 ppg
3. John Yang, El Monte, 17.0 ppg
4. Bruce English, La Verne Lutheran, 17.0
5. C.J. Cooper, La Verne Lutheran, 17.0
6. Chris Reyes, Damien, 16.7 ppg
7. Bryan Gholar, Walnut, 16.6 ppg
8. Sharif Watson, Rowland, 16.3 ppg
9. Mark Roche, Arroyo, 16.0 ppg
10. Danny Villalobos, Rosemead, 15.3

Girls leading scorers
1. Evelyn Herrera, Workman, 24.0 ppg
2. Essence Pineda, Workman, 19.2 ppg
3. Imari Brown, Duarte, 16.8 ppg
4. Taylor Jackson, San Dimas, 15.0 ppg
5. Shereese Cox, Duarte, 14.0 ppg
6. Jessica Mora, Workman, 13.5 ppg
7. Mikayla Tickey, Duarte, 13.0 ppg
8. Kristi Sakamoto, Ayala, 12.5 ppg
9. Nnenna Abaeze, Walnut 12.5
10. Tricia Choy, Walnut, 12.0

The Baldwin Park High School alumni quarterbacks club does a great job raising funds for the Braves' football program, but on this Christmas the group is giving back to needy families in Baldwin Park. Members of the quarterbacks club are handing out 50 toys to eight families at the Baldwin Park Church of the Redeemer at 3739 N. Monterrey Ave., on Thursday from 2-3 p.m.

The Orange County parochial school's claim that Southern Section transfer rules discriminate against its powerhouse athletic program will probably cause eye rolling at other Southland high schools. Here's hoping for a jury trial, where everything is laid out in the open.

The emergence of Jalen Moore at running back and Nine at quarterback as two of the top performers in the Serra League was nice, considering the Lancers were replacing their top QB, RB and WRs from last season. Amat averaged 35 points per game this season. Those numbers helped Colonel Hagerty's boys march to a 9-0 record and had Robledo and the Amat nation mapping out trip routes to Mission Viejo. It was an exciting first nine weeks (10 actually).

Mother nature was too much for the all-weather surface again. The championship of the Walnut girls soccer tournament was postponed tonight, negating an intriguing match-up between host Walnut (3-2) and Glendora (6-1-1). Just as well, you want to watch this in better conditions. Mustangs coach Lorraine Hansen said they're working on a reschedule date. Glendora has been dominant in the tourney, outscoring their opponents 18-1 behind junior scorers Amie Jepsen (11 goals, 6 assiss) and Ally Wilson (7 goals, 15 assists).

What a great recruiting tool, "Go to Notre Dame and win a free trip to Ireland in 2012." If they're taking reporters, I'm transferring to the Daily News. Get your passports ready, because Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will open its 2012 football season with a game in Dublin, Ireland, Coach Kevin Rooney confirmed on Monday.

Once again, Aram didn't mince words after watching this weekends state football championships from his cushy couch, which is how most of us enjoyed it while the rain continued to pour at Home Depot Center.

Aram's analysis on Centennial straight to the point: The Corona Centennial coaching staff, whose biggest clutch decision this year has been what time to get off the bus, blew it on Friday night at the worst possible time.

Aram, tell us what you really think? Yes, I know, Southern Section football sucks. It really does right now. No two ways about it. Do I love it? Yes. But as a whole, the Southland is going through a rut in terms of talent and it showed over the weekend. Our all-everything offensive juggernaut Corona Centennial got held to 13 points, for crying out loud.

You know what's great about this news, I didn't hear about it until today. I didn't hear a word from from the Angels or South Hills promoting the fact that Angels manager Mike Scioscia visited South Hills last week for an impromptu coaching lesson that was set up by former Mt. SAC coaching legend Art Mazmanian, who has been helping Huskies coach Kevin Smith in recent years. Scioscia was there to work with junior catcher C.J. Saylor, one of the best age-group catchers in the country. He worked with Saylor for about 45 minutes, then when sixth period began and the rest of the team started crowding around Scioscia asked Smith if he could speak to the rest of the team, and continued on for another 45 minutes. That's my kind of guy.

With so many speculative comments on Los Altos softball standout Courtney Gano's expected transfer from Los Altos to Bonita at semester, this is what I can share with you to clear the air. Her father, Greg Gano, also the coach of Damien High School's football team, is in the process of moving. He is finishing up the sale of his house in West Covina and is moving to La Verne by the beginning of February, according to Gano. Courtney Gano, who already has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Washington, is still at Los Altos and will decide along with her father whether to enroll at Bonita or continue making the long trek across town to Los Altos once the move is finalized.

West Covina boys basketball championship
Damien 69, Bishop Amat 62 -- Damien High School held on late to defeat Bishop Amat, 69-62, for its second straight West Covina boys basketball tournament title.

La Canada boys basketball championship
La Canada 63, Bonita 51 -- La Cañada High School's early 15-point lead had dwindled to three points late in the third quarter against visiting Bonita in the championship game of the 20th annual La Cañada Holiday Classic on Saturday night.

Arroyo girls basketball championship
Bishop Amat 45, Sonora 33 -- Sparked by a 15-point performance by Leticia Galarza, which included three 3-pointers, the Bishop Amat girls basketball team defeated Sonora, 45-33, to claim the 16th annual Christmas Classic Tournament title at Arroyo High School on Saturday night.

West Covina boys basketball tournament
Tonight's championship
Bishop Amat vs. Damien, 7 p.m.
Consolation games
Nogales vs. West Covina, 4 p.m.
Don Lugo vs. Charter Oak, 5:30 p.m.

Arroyo girls basketball tournament
Friday's semifinals
Bishop Amat 57, Monrovia 26
Sonora 72, Arcadia 50
Tonight's Championship
Bishop Amat vs Sonora, 7:30 p.m.

By Tyler Drohan, Correspondent
In a game of runs, an early spurt propelled the Covina boys basketball team to the Azusa Tournament championship with a 59-53 victory over Chino on Friday.
With a tenuous three-point lead, junior Nino Harrell hit a critical 3-pointer to push the Covina advantage to 55-49 with 36 seconds to play in the game. Up to that point, Chino had staged a furious 21-5 run that had the Cowboys as close as they had been since late in the first quarter. Chino trailed 57-53 but missed a late attempt, and Covina (7-3) senior Kyle Chiu made a layup as time expired. (to continue, click thread)

Above: Covina's Mike Peters driving for two

For local business' and those who would like to advertise in our Jan. 6 PrepXtra all-area football magazine, Call Robert Gonzales at 626 962-8811, ext. 2530

Los Altos girls soccer coach Chris Reeder complaining about the field conditions again ... at least I think that's what he's complaining about.

1. Los Altos -- The worst field in the Valley, especially after it rains. If it wasn't for the colorful blue and red stands, it would be a complete mess. It's just old, even the lights are in a bad spot. It reminds me of the old Edgewood high field we use to play on, rock hard in the winter with more uneven surfaces than the moon.
2. Wilson -- Is there a pattern here? The Wildcats' field might be worse than Los Altos, but the stadium gives it an edge over its rival. You know, there was once a deal in place that after La Puente got its new field turf surface that Los Altos and Wilson would soon follow. When, In 2020?
3. Mountain View -- More of a problem for its futbol team than its football team. You can't have one of the best boys soccer teams this century playing on that gigantic crown they call a field. A few years ago they almost had a playoff game postponed because they had to fill in a sand pit that runs along the sideline. Terrible. And by the way, Mountain View beat super power Salesian in soccer recently, so give it up for that.
4. Bishop Amat: Nobody is complaining about the charm of Kiefer or the intimacy it provides for its fans, but at some point the turf situation needs to be addressed. They're still snickering about the mid-week sprinkler debacle that left their field in a pool of water the week of the Tesoro playoff game ... I'm just saying.
5. Covina District Field - Now let me get this straight, you have three schools, Northview, South Hills and Covina all sharing the same stadium and you're still using grass. There is still dirt in the parking lot. You would think if Baldwin Park could deliver two beautiful stadiums for Sierra Vista and Baldwin Park HS, that Covina could build one state of the art facility at Covina District for three high schools, right?

From the L.A. Times: An amended complaint filed this week in Orange County Superior Court by lawyers for Santa Ana Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange challenges the enforcement of a controversial CIF rule adopted in 2009 regarding "athleticially motivated" transfers, alleging that the Southern Section has been using the rule to discriminate against Mater Dei athletes.
"In blunt terms, the lawyers charge that the Southern Section "consistently, intentionally and systematically has engaged in arbitrary actions against Mater Dei by issuing and enforcing unsupported and erroneous findings and rulings relating to eligibility of students athletes at Mater Dei."

Los Altos junior infielder Joe Munoz has given a verbal commitment to San Diego State on a baseball scholarship. Munoz is a 6-3 junior who will play shortstop and pitch for the Conquerors this season. Last year he was named first-team All-Miramonte after hitting .381 with three homers and 21 RBIs.

Azusa High Boys Basketball tournament
Final games set for tonight
Gladstone vs. South Hills, 3 p.m.
Azusa vs. El Monte, 4:30 p.m.
3rd place: Mountain View vs. Temple City, 6 p.m.
Championship: Covina vs. Chino, 7:30 p.m.

16th Annual Lady Knight's Christmas Tournament
At Arroyo High School
Wednesday's quarterfinal scores
Bishop Amat 59, Sierra Vista 21
Monrovia 55, Charter Oak 30
Arcadia 57, Downey 36
Sonora 59, California 40
Friday's semifinals
Monrovia vs. Bishop Amat, 6 p.m.
Arcadia vs. Sonora, 7:30 p.m.

San Dimas girls basketball tournament
Thursday's semifinals
Antelope Valley 51, Chino Hills 31
Santiago 59, Diamond Ranch 32
Friday's games
3rd place: Chino Hills vs. Diamond Ranch, 6 p.m.
Championship: Santiago vs. Antelope Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Note: Diamond Ranch standout Chelsea Barnes injured her ankle and left the game early in their loss to Santiago.

Highlights
Boys Basketball: Ayala advances to semifinals of North Orange County tournament with 68-63 win over Sonora; Bishop Amat's Tyler Hill scores 25 in 70-55 win over Charter Oak in West Covina tournament semifinals.
Girls Basketball: Glendora and South Hills both win consolation games in the Arroyo tournament.
Girls Soccer: Sierra Vista remains perfect, improves to 6-0 after 4-2 Montview League victory over La Puente; Wilson defeats Covina 4-0 in Valle Vista league game.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Thursday's boxscores, click thread.

By Fred J. Robledo
The Bishop Amat and Los Altos girls soccer teams fell a game short of meeting in last year's CIF-Southern Section Division 4 championship - both ousted in the semifinals and ruining a much-anticipated rematch after a 0-0 tie earlier that season.
And what a season it was, the soccer powers with a combined record of 52-3-2 while outscoring their opponents 207-19. Although a year late, the rematch finally came on Thursday at Los Altos in front of a better-than-expected December crowd.
Neither team has been as dominant out of the gate, particularly on the defensive end, which led to Bishop Amat's come-from-behind 3-1 victory after trailing 1-0 at half.

Bishop Amat, Los Altos photo gallery.

Above: Natalie Rivas (8) celebrates after scoring in the second half to tie the score, 1-1.

2010 All Hacienda League Football
Player of the year: Chris Solomon, RB/LB, West Covina, Jr.
Offensive player of the year: Garrett Pendleton, Bonita, QB, Sr.
Defensive player of the year: Maurice Dupleasis, West Covina, LB, Sr.

Above: West Covina's Chris Solomon all smiles after West Covina defeats Bonita 37-33 for Southeast championship. Solomon named the Hacienda player of the year.

First team offense
QB: George Johnson, West Covina, Sr.
RB: Beejay Lee, West covina, Sr.
RB: Chase Price, Diamond Ranch, Sr.
RB: Giamani Johnson, Bonita, Sr.
RB: Jacoby Carter, Diamond Ranch, Sr.
TE: Frankie Avalos, Los Altos, Sr.
OL: Mark Laffin, West Covina, Sr.
OL: Ray Amaya, West Covina, Jr.
OL: Jon Logan, West Covina, Sr.
OL: Joseph Gibson, West Covina, Sr.
OL: Mike Cortez, West Covina, Sr.
WR: Aubrey Coleman, Walnut, Sr.
WR: Jason Tsukada, Walnut, Sr.
WR: Leonardo Freeman, Rowland, Sr.
PK: Brian Drulias, Diamond Bar, Jr.
First team defense
DL: Justin Meaders, West Covina, Jr.
DL: Ryan Salausa, Rowland, Sr.
DL: Derek Edwards, Diamond Ranch, Sr.
DL; George Castro, West Covina, Jr.
DL: Daniel Herriman, Bonita, Sr.
LB: Eric Mikity, Bonita, Sr.
LB: Kyle Leon, Diamond Ranch, Sr.
LB: K.C. Huth, Bonita, Sr.
LB: Roger Paez, West Covina, Sr.
LB: Randy Collins, Walnut, Sr.
DB: Matt Gelalich, Bonita, Sr.
DB: Anthony Molina, West Covina, Sr.
DB: Andrew Fischer, Diamond Ranch, Jr.
DB: Garret Horine, Bonita, Jr.
DB: Jacoby Carter, Diamond Ranch, Sr.

2010 All Mission Valley League Football
Players of the year: Steven Rivera, Arroyo, QB, Jr., Matt Fregoso, Rosemead, RB, Sr.
Backs of the year: Anthony Miller, Arroyo, WR, Sr., Michael Jimenez, El Monte, RB, Sr.
Lineman of the year: Sam Torres, Arroyo, Sr.

Above: Arroyo QB Steven Rivera in action. Rivera shared MVL MVP honors with Rosemead's Matt Fregoso.

First team offense
QB: Matt Macias, Rosemead
RB: Mikey Vasquez, Arroyo
RB: Jossymar Ulloa, Mountain View
WR: Memo Silva, El Monte
WR: Steve San Miguel, Rosemead
WR: Hunter Duran, Arroyo
TE: Fabian Ramirez, Rosemead
OL: Coby Rubalcava, Gabrielino
OL: Julio Tlaxcuapan, Rosemead
OL: Vincent Martinez, Arroyo
OL: Nelson Leon, Rosemead
OL: Luis Nunez, Arroyo
AP: Omar Partida, Arroyo
PK: Cesar Barva, Arroyo
First team defense
DE: Fabian Ramirez, Rosemead
DE: Conner Salazar, El Monte
DT: Vincent Martinez, Arroyo
DT: Sal Chavrin, Rosemead
LB: Anthony Flores, Arroyo
LB: Andrew Gibson, Rosemead
LB: Sam Aholoka, Arroyo
LB: Ruben Jimenez, LB
DB: Mike Amaya, Arroyo
DB: Fernando Ochoa, Arroyo
DB: Frank Lopez, El Monte
AP: Andrew Kerkhoff, Arroyo.

2010 All Montview League Football
Offensive player of the year: Jose Perez, La Puente, Sr.
Defensive player of the year: Jose Nunez, Azusa, Sr.
Lineman of the year: Edwin Garcia, Azusa, Sr.

above: Azusa's Jose Nunez in action against La Puente

First team offense
QB: Andres Uribe, Gladstone, Sr.
RB: Bryan Nieto, Azusa, Sr.
RB: Steven Blount, Azusa, Sr.
RB: Joseph Herrera, Gladstone, Sr.
RB: Giovani Rivera, Sierra Vista, Jr.
WR: Abraham Ochoa, Azusa, Sr.
WR: Josh Paniagua, La Puente, Sr.
WR: Michael Pena, Bassett, Sr.
TE: Brandon Ross, La Puente, Jr.
OL: Juan Garcia, Ganesha, Sr.
OL: Andrew Pantoja, Gladstone, Jr.
OL: Adrian Pena, La Puente, Jr.
OL: Anthony Villa, Azusa, Sr.
OL: RJ Gutierrez, La Puente, Sr.
OL: Carlos Gutierrez, Sierra Vista, Jr.
OL: Steve Miranda, Workman, Sr.
PK: Christian Guzman, Gladstone, So.
First team defense
DL: Nick Valverde, Azusa, Sr.
DL: Federico Garcia, La Puente, Sr.
DL: Pedro Candia, La Puente, Sr.
DL: Adrian Solchaga, Gladstone, So.
DL: Aaron Sanchez, Gladstone, So.
LB: Stevent Blount, Azusa, Sr.
LB: Joseph Herrera, Gladstone, Sr.
LB: Freddi Ureta, Sierra Vista, Sr.
LB: Jorge Martinez, La Puente, Jr.
LB: Nick Barrientos, La Puente, Jr.
DB: Aaron Gaulding, Ganesha, Jr.
DB: Bryan Nieto, Azusa, Sr.
DB: Brian Avendano, La Puente, Sr.
DB: Josh Paniagua, La Puente, Sr.
DB: Aaron Arteaga, Gladstone, Sr.

Bonita rolls in La Canada tourney: Bonita High School's boys basketball team dealt St. Francis a 50-41 defeat in Pool B round-robin play during the Holiday Classic at La Cañada High on Wednesday.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Wednesday's boxscores, click thread.

Above: My main man James Northup driving in for two points.

San Dimas girls basketball tournament
Tonight's semifinals at San Dimas HS
Chino Hills vs. Antelope Valley, 6 p.m.
Diamond Ranch vs. Santiago, 7:30 p.m.
Championship on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The West Covina tournament was re-pooled after round-robin play and the weekend schedule is set, with Bishop Amat and Damien meeting in a highly anticipated finale on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Chris Reyes pours in 27 points: Damien High School's boys basketball team remained undefeated after a 63-49 victory over Monrovia in a pool-play game of the West Covina Tournament.

Tonight's games
Bishop Amat vs. Charter Oak, 4 p.m.
Bassett vs. Nogales, 5:30 p.m.
San Dimas vs. Monrovia, 7 p.m.
Friday's games
Monrovia vs. Don Lugo, 4 p.m.
San Dimas vs. Bassett, 5:30 p.m.
Damien vs.West Covina, 7 p.m.
Saturday's games
Nogales vs. West Covina, 4 p.m.
Don Lugo vs. Charter Oak, 5:30 p.m.
Damien vs. West Covina, 7 p.m.

One of the most celebrated softball pitchers ever, four-time Olympic gold medal winner Lisa Fernandez, will be the -guest speaker at Bishop Amat's "A Cut Above," softball clinic at Bishop Amat high school on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Because of the strong possibility of rain the clinic has been moved to the school's gym and will include instruction on hitting, fielding, base running, lunch and a question and answer session with Fernandez.
Pre-registration is $55 and $65 the day of the event. For more information, call 626-430-8443.
Hit and Hustle
Bishop Amat's annual "Hit and Hustle," football camp with Lancers coach Steve Hagerty will be held on January 15 from 9-3 p.m., for kids in third through eighth grade.
The $75 fee includes lunch, certificate of participation, t-shirt a group picture and instruction from the Bishop amat football staff.
For more information call 626-962-2495.

The Star-News just concluded two all-star volleyball games, a senior game and public vs. private all-star game. The word now is the Star-News senior all-stars want to challenge the Tribune senior all-stars in a mid-January showdown, which we have graciously accepted. I already spoke with St. Lucy's coach Sean Douglas, who has agreed to coach the Tribune all-stars. We will release the Tribune girls volleyball all-area team in January, and members from the first team that are seniors are all invited to participate. The rest of the team will be selected the next few weeks. When I get a firm date and location, I will share it with, but this is truly a great way to send out the seniors, especially considering the great year it was in girls volleyball. I can't wait to watch players from Chino Hills, St. Lucy's, Bonita and Los Altos all on the same team.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Tuesday's boxscores, click thread.

Above: Quinten Howell hit four free throws in the final 16.4 seconds Tuesday, helping Los Altos High School's boys basketball team hold off pesky Whittier 74-65 in Pool D play of the Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary Classic.

San Dimas tourney: Diamond Ranch High School's girls basketball team scored the first 18 points of the game en route to a 70-37 victory over Rosemead on Tuesday during round-robin play of the Sherise Edmonds Memorial Tournament at San Dimas High.

Tuesday's boxscore highlights
Boys Basketball: Mountain View's Erick Martinez scores 22 points in 57-53 win over South Hills, improving the vikings to 6-1. Covina beats El Monte, 62-18
Girls Basketball: Taylor Anderson scores 18 for undefeated Bonita in 72-52 win over Los Alamitos in pool play of Ocean View tournament; St. Lucy's beats Walnut, 46-29
Boys Soccer: Montview League play is underway, Ganesha beats Gladstone 2-1; Workman takes care of La Puente, 2-0.
Girls Soccer: Sierra Vista improves to 4-0 with 5-0 win over Sierra Vista.

Arroyo girls basketball tournament
Tonight's quarterfinals
Downey vs. Arcadia, 3 p.m.
Charter Oak vs. Monrovia, 4:30 p.m.
California vs. Sonora, 6 p.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m.

TONIGHT'S FINAL ROUND-ROBIN PLAY
West Covina Boys Tournament
Don Lugo vs. Bassett, 4 p.m.
Damien vs. Monrovia, 5:30 p.m.
West Covina vs. Charter Oak, 7 p.m.
Note: Finals will be held Thursday through Saturday

San Dimas girls basketball tournament
Santiago vs. Claremont, 3 p.m.
San Dimas vs. Chino Hills, 4:30 p.m.
Gladstone vs. Antelope Valley, 6 p.m.
Fullerton vs. Rosemead, 7:30 p.m.
Note: Championship on Friday, 7:30 p.m.

2010 All Serra League
Most Valuable Player: Vernon Adams, QB, Alemany
Most Valuable offensive players: Jalen Moore, RB, Bishop Amat; Jared Baker, RB, Loyola.
Most Valuable defensive players: Julian Gener, DB, Bishop Amat, Kyle DeVaughn, DL, Alemany.

Above: Bishop Amat running back Jalen Moore named co-offensive MVP of Serra League.

First team offense
QB: Vernon Adams, Alemany
QB: Rio Ruiz, Bishop Amat
QB: Ken Stenhouse, Crespi
RB: Jalen Moore, Bishop Amat
RB: Jared Baker, Loyola
WR: Devin Lucien, Crespi
WR: Shane Drozdowski, Alemany
WR: Wallace Gonzalez, Bishop Amat
WR: Kodi Whitfield, Loyola.
OL: Akeem Gonzales, Alemany
OL: Sergio Figueroa, Alemany
OL: Jordan Simmons, Crespi
OL: Ricky Wolff, Crespi
OL: Christian Orduno, Bishop Amat
PK: Martin Meza, Alemany
First team defense
DL: Kyle DeVaughn, Alemany
DL: Julian Gener, Bishop Amat
DL: Reggie Coates, Crespi
DL: J.J. Sabatine, Notre Dame
LB: Tyler Dabovich, Alemany
LB: Mike Juarez, Bishop Amat
LB: Nick Huyah, Notre Dame
LB: Lawrence Wilkerson, Crespi
DB: Saladin McCullough, Alemany
DB: Jerico Ricardson, Alemany
DB: Nick Casarez, Bishop Amat
DB: Charles Washington, Crespi
DB: Cameron Walker, Loyola
P: Hayden Ross, Notre Dame.

2010 All Sierra League Football
Player of the year: Ifo Ekpre-olomu, Chino Hills, Sr.
Co-offensive MVPs: Daniel Kessler, Claremont, Sr., Dennis Rufus, Charter Oak, Sr.
Defensive MVP: Auston Johnson, Chino Hills, Sr.

Above: Chino Hills Sierra League MVP Ifo Ekpre-olomu

First team offense
QB: Vince Hernandez, South Hills, Sr.
QB: Travis Santiago, Charter Oak, Sr.
RB: Nate Harris, Chino Hills, Sr.
RB: Jamal Hart, South Hills, Jr.
RB: James Ramirez, Damien, Sr.
WR: Chris Gilchrist, Charter Oak, Jr.
WR: Josiah Thropay, Charter Oak, Sr.
WR: Scott Calles,Chino Hills, Sr.
WR: Aaron Dockery, Claremont, Jr.
WR: Tanner Kuramata, Claremont, Sr.
WR: Jack Reeder, Claremont, Sr.
OL: Travis Doll, Charter Oak, Sr.
OL: Nick Enriquez, Chino Hills, Jr.
OL: Robert Soliz, Chino Hills,Sr.
OL: Shaquille Davis, Claremont, Sr.
OL: Sioasi Aiono, South Hills, Sr.
OL: Jeff Vargas, South Hills, Sr.
PK: Joey Cejudo, Chino Hills, Sr.
First team defense
DL: Charlie Avila, Charter Oak, Sr.
DL: Maurice Clement, Charter Oak, Sr.
DL: Brad Bergen, Chino Hills, Sr.
DL: Brandon Tuliapupu, Claremont, Sr.
DL: Peter Nonu, South Hills, Sr.
LB: Nick Alexander, Charter Oak, Sr.
LB: Greg Bennett, Chino Hills, Sr.
LB: Nick Gonzales, Chino Hills, Sr.
LB: Jake Overman, Claremont, Sr.
LB: James Wernli, Claremont, Jr.
LB: Griffin Lord, Damien, Sr.
DB: Scott Calles, Chino Hills, Sr.
DB: Nate Harris, Chino Hills, Sr.
DB: Steven Smith, Chino Hills, Sr.
DB: Andrew Tarankow, Claremont, Jr.
DB: Dorian Granados, Damien, Sr.
P: Denny Hageman, Damien, Jr.

I will publish our final rankings in the Tribune PrepXtra All-Area Football magazine, which is scheduled to be published on Thursday, Jan. 6. For now, look at how MaxPreps' computers ranked the Tribune Super 35 to end the 2010 season. You have to admit, championships and deep runs in the Southeast or Mid-Valley Division didn't affect the computers much, where Charter Oak, Damien, South Hills, Glendora and Claremont all finished in the top ten.

MAXPREPS' FINAL 2010 COMPUTER POLL
1. Chino Hills (10-3)
2. Bishop Amat (9-2)
3. West Covina (13-1)
4. Bonita (12-2)
5. Claremont (7-4)
6. Charter Oak (6-5)
7. Damien (6-4)
8. Glendora (5-5)
9. South Hills (3-7)
10. Diamond Ranch (5-6)
11. San Dimas (8-5), 12. Walnut (6-5), 13. Covina (10-2), 14. Rowland (4-6), 15. Ayala (4-6), 16. Azusa (10-1), 17. Diamond Bar (6-4), 18. Arroyo (9-2), 19. Baldwin Park (5-6), 20. Pomona (5-5), 21. La Puente (8-3), 22. Northview (3-7), 23. Rosemead (8-4), 24. Wilson (4-6), 25. El Monte, (4-6), 26. Gladstone (5-6), 27. Sierra Vista (7-3), 28. Los Altos (0-10), 29. Nogales (1-9), 30. Ganesha (4-6), 31. Mountain View (5-5), 32. Bassett (3-7), 33. South El Monte (1-9), 34. Workman (2-8), 35. Duarte (0-9)

2010 Valle Vista All-League Football
Back of the year: Vinny Venegas, Covina, Jr.
Co-Lineman of the year: Allen Brown, San Dimas, Sr; Wardell Crutchfield, Baldwin Park, Sr.

Note: I will post Sierra League on Wednesday, Hacienda League Thursday and Montview on Friday.

First team offense
QB: Billy Livingston, Covina, Jr
QB: Demetrius Counts, Pomona, Sr.
QB: Mario Rodriguez, Baldwin Park, Sr.
RB: Jordan Taylor, San Dimas, SR.
RB: Marquise Thomas, Northview, Sr.
WR: Demetrius Jackson, Baldwin Park, Sr.
WR: Kevin Kolbeck, San Dimas, Sr.
WR: Peter De La Cruz, Covina, Jr.
WR: Vinny Venegas, Covina, Jr.
TE: Samuel Guillen, Baldwin Park, Jr.
OL: Adrian Guerra, Sr. San Dimas, Sr.
OL: Allen Brown, San Dimas, Sr.
OL: Moises Torres, OL, Covina, Sr.
OL: Nick Hynes, OL, Covina, Sr.
OL: Gerrard Kough, Pomona, Jr.
OL: Christopher Auxier, Northview, Sr.
First team defense
DB: Kevin Kolbeck, San Dimas, Sr.
DB: Jordan Taylor, San Dimas, Sr.
DB: Demetrius Jackson, Baldwin Park, Sr.
DB: Jamal Overton, Pomona, Sr.
LB: Matt Murray, Covina, Sr.
LB: Justin Bugh, San Dimas, So.
LB: Fabian Abraham, Pomona, Jr.
LB: Tony Montoya, Baldwin Park, Sr.
LB: Wardell Crutchfield, Baldwin Park, Sr.
DL: Nick Hynes, Covina, Jr.
DL: Theo Darlington, San Dimas, Sr.
DL: Chris Auxier, Northview, Sr.
DL: Jose Franco, Baldwin Park, Sr.

I just found out that La Verne Lutheran's showcase game in Las Vegas was canceled, creating an opening date for the Trojans to fill, most likely in January. The selfish reporter in me would love for one of our area's top teams like Damien, Bishop Amat, Bonita, Ayala or Glendora to schedule a game with the two-time defending divisional champs and reigning state champs. I have it on good authority that the Trojans would love to schedule one of our area heavyweights. You want a shot at one of the best teams in the Southland, here it is. You say you want to measure yourself against the best, here it is. You want to create the biggest non-league game in years and cash in at the ticket booth, Lutheran is a phone call away. It makes sense any way you look at it. For me personally, I can only imagine the atmosphere of say, Lutheran going to Damien or Bonita. It probably won't happen though, most schedules already are full. But I thought I would put it out there, you never know who might create an opening and step up to the plate.

West Covina tournament: Charter Oak High School's boys basketball team overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to knock off San Dimas 52-47 in the opening game of the West Covina Tournament on Monday.

Boys Hoops highlights: Damien and Bishop Amat both won round-robin games in the West Covina tournament, Damien beating Nogales 81-41 behind 13 points from Chris Reyes and J.P Chakbazof, and Amat crushing Don Lugo 74-51 behind 20 from Daniel Rodriguez.
Girls Hoops highlights: Bishop Amat and Sierra Vista are off to quick starts again, and will meet in the second round of the Arroyo tournament on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Bishop Amat improved to 6-1 with a 61-18 win over San Marino while Sierra Vista improved to 5-1 with a 47-13 win over Mountain View.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Monday's boxscores, click thread.

Bassett High School head coach Aubrey Duncan is also the head coach of The Los Angeles Amazons women's professional football team, which started in 2002 and are winners of three straight women's professional league football titles with a combined record of 23-1 since 2007.
The Amazons are conducting open tryouts for the 2010 season on Saturday and Dec. 18 at Kelby Park in Covina, located at 815 N. Barranca Ave. Both tryouts start at 9 a.m.
The Amazons are asking that players bring their own workout clothes, plus pay a $25 tryout fee.
For more information, call the Amazons at 626-676-1959 or visit their website, www.laamazons.com.

Mike "The Cousin" has a big road trip in 2011. Servite, who won the Pac-5 title and will face Concord De La Salle in Saturday's state championship, will host Bishop Amat at Cerritos College in their home opener, which will be the Lancers' road opener in 2011. Servite's first three games are at Oceanside followed by its home game against Amat, then a road game at La Habra, winners of four straight divisional titles. On Amat's schedule include Venice, Cathedral, Damien, Garfield, Servite and the Serra League. Bishop Amat is still looking for a week two opponent at home on Sept. 16. Amat's preference was to schedule a week 10 opponent, but it appears they will have a bye in week 10, unless someone steps up the plate. So, who's available in week two?

Prep reporters from the Orange County Register should have been treated better at Saturday's Mid-Valley Division championship between Monrovia and Whittier Christian. According to our very own eyewitnesses working the game, officials working the Arcadia High press box demanded that all reporters be out of the press box less than 30 minutes following the game, or roughly 10:30 p.m., which is asking a lot of reporters when it's a championship that ends at 10:05 with a ceremony on the field that follows. The O.C. reporters were trying to finish their stories when they were asked to pack up and leave. The O.C. reporters asked for a few more minutes but apparently were escorted out, which turned into an ugly scene that required police to be summoned to the press box. Police took statements and no arrests were made, but you will probably hear more about this in the days to come.

Fred's comment: Something needs to be done for working members of the media who cover championship games that aren't at big venues like Anaheim. At those events, CIF officials are there and are very kind allowing reporters to finish their stories. That same courtesy needs to be extended to all venues hosting championship games. These are by far the toughest to cover because of late starts, celebration and ceremonies that follow championship events. And when you have out-of-area reporters like the O.C. register, you need to be gracious hosts, there is nowhere else for them to file their stories but the press area. To rush reporters out less than 30 minutes following a game is absolutely ridiculous. In fact, we should be allowed at least 45 minutes to finish since CIF requires a short "cooling off" period before we start interviews on the field. We're trying to provide memories in the newspaper that last a lifetime, but apparently those working the games don't want to allow for few a extra minutes so we can do our job. Totally unacceptable.

The tournament season continues this week with the West Covina high school boys basketball tournament and the San Dimas high girls team with plenty of good local teams involved. I'll update scores throughout the week as long as I get emails from tournament directors updating us...deal?

West Covina Boys Tournament
Pool A: Bishop Amat, Don Lugo, Bassett
Pool B: Damien, Monrovia, Nogales
Pool C: West Covina, Charter Oak, San Dimas
Tonight's round-robin at West Covina High School
San Dimas vs. Charter Oak, 4 p.m.
Bishop Amat vs. Don Lugo, 5:30 p.m.
Damien vs. Nogales, 7 p.m.
Tuesday's round-robin
Monrovia vs. Nogales, 4 p.m.
Bishop Amat vs. Bassett, 5:30 p.m.
West Covina vs. San Dimas, 7 p.m.
Wednesday's round-robin
Don Lugo vs. Bassett, 4 p.m.
Damien vs. Monrovia, 5:30 p.m.
West Covina vs. Charter Oak, 7 p.m.
Note: Finals will be held Thursday through Saturday

San Dimas girls basketball tournament
Pool A: San Dimas, Chino Hills, West Covina
Pool B: Gladstone, Antelope Valley, Nogales
Pool C: Fullerton, Diamond Ranch, Rosemead
Pool D: Santiago, Northview, Claremont
Tonight's round-robin games at San Dimas HS
Gladstone vs. Nogales, 3 p.m.
Santiago vs. Northview, 4:30 p.m.
Fullerton vs. Diamond Ranch, 6 p.m.
San Dimas vs. West Covina, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday's round-robin
Chino Hills vs. West Covina, 3 p.m.
Antelope Valley vs. Nogales, 4:30 p.m.
Diamond Ranch vs. Rosemead, 6 p.m.
Northview vs. Claremont, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday's round-robin
Santiago vs. Claremont, 3 p.m.
San Dimas vs. Chino Hills, 4:30 p.m.
Gladstone vs. Antelope Valley, 6 p.m.
Fullerton vs. Rosemead, 7:30 p.m.
Note: Championship on Friday, 7:30 p.m.

The Scouting Guru has been all over the San Gabriel Valley and beyond, and like always, he's offered to share his thoughts, free of charge. Don't hate, enjoy it for what it's worth, which is one man's opinion on the talent in the San Gabriel Valley.

The Guru says: Well, it's finally over. No, I'm not talking about your Christmas shopping (and knowing all over you bloggers, you have even started your shopping yet have you?). No, I'm talking about the high school football season. The final pass has been thrown, the final tackle has been made and the champions have been crowned. So, you might be asking, "Hey, Guru - where the heck have you been?" (Ok, in truth only some of you, while the others were too busy still trying to figure out how Covina beat West Covina). Well, I'm doing some work over in the San Fernando Valley at Crespi High School but maintaining my scouting status in this area and the Inland Empire. It's been very busy, but fun as well. I never knew how pressure packed it would be to coach in the Pac-5...but now I know.

Been checking the scores, defending champ Sierra Vista off to a pretty good start, as is the Bonita....at least that's what I'm hearing.

By John Honell, Correspondent
Bonita High School used a stifling defense to successfully defend its Covina girls basketball tournament title with a 46-40 victory over Roosevelt of Corona on Saturday night. The Bearcats (5-0) held the Mustangs (5-1) scoreless for more than 10 minutes from the 4:52 mark of the second quarter to the 2:51 mark of the third.
"The first two games of this tournament, our defense wasn't very good," Bearcats coach Darren Baumunk said. "Last night (against Valley Christian) and tonight I think we stepped up our defense. I think we held them to two points in the second quarter."

Now that another football season has come and gone, we still start posting fall all-league teams on the blog and in the newspaper over the next week.....

Mr. L.A. Times Eric Sondheimer tweeted from Anaheim during Servite's 41-27 win over Mission Viejo in the Pac-5 final: "Word from the pressbox at Angel Stadium. Father of Bishop Amat QB Rio Ruiz says his son is definitely playing football next season." Further, word is Bishop Amat and Servite might meet next season, stay tuned.

Finally, Star-News reporter Miguel Melendez said police were summoned to the Arcadia High School press box following Saturday's game between Monrovia and Whittier Christian. Melendez said police were called over a press box dispute that involved press box officials and reporters working the game, which did not involve Melendez or Whittier reporter Andrew Campa. Melendez said no arrests were made.

Mt. San Antonio College, featuring a unit that includes former area stars Nick Lamaison (South Hills), Michael Edwards (Glendora), Bryce McBride (Los Altos), Marcus Wagner (Bishop Amat), Michael Harrell (Charter Oak) and Deshawn Gaise (Bishop Amat), rolled to its second consecutive California Community College Athletic Association title by routing City College of San Francisco, 34-7, on Saturday.
The question is could these Mounties, who are 26-1 the past two seasons and who feature a load of NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision prospects, beat UCLA, or even USC?

Mt. SAC coach Bob Jastrab: "I'm so proud of these kids and what they accomplished. They came out and played today. I can't say enough about the defense, to shut a great team like that down and give up only seven points.The offense, scoring 34 points, we clicked on all cylinders, especially the past few weeks. These guys deserve everything they get by winning this national championship."
Quarterback Nick Lamaison: We were hungry. Our guys wanted this second consecutive national title and we got it. We worked hard all year, every single day, and it pays off in the end."
Defensive lineman Bojay Filimoeatu: It was just a great team effort, from offense, to defense to special teams. We worked real hard all season, we didn't want to waste it. It was a great win for us, some of our sophomores who didn't play last year. It was a great honor for us to go undefeated and get them this title."

Encore performance: Mounties capture another state championship

Mt. SAC defense rises to occasion

The best game of the year in the last game of the year, the way it should be. Been doing this a long time and never felt for a team more than I felt for Bonita, a cruel way to lose, no other way to explain it. It was a game that will go down as one of the all-time greats, had atmosphere and a fourth quarter shootout in week fourteen, what more could you ask? Garrett Pendleton delivered the game of his career, passing for 357 yards and putting his team in position to win setting up Brandt Davis' 39 yard field goal with 1:45 left for a 33-30 lead. Even on West Covina's final drive, Bonita had a chance at a pick that would have sealed the deal, but it left the door open and the Bulldogs walked in. Chris Solomon's 20-yard run was followed by Aaron Salgado's 17-yard run to the Bearcats' 1, setting up George Johnson's one-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left for a 37-33 victory and the Bulldogs' second championship since 2004.

Game story, West Covina 37, Bonita 33: West Covina High School football coach Mike Maggiore knew he had arguably some of the best talent in the area. But the Bulldogs also showed another trait that can be decisive in championship football games -- heart.

Aram Column: Yes, the Bulldogs are champions this morning. Victors over Bonita in one of the Valley's greatest-ever games Friday ... but not before giving their fans a major scare and allowing the ghost of their only defeat this season into the stadium.

George Johnson's night: Numbers have never told the story of West Covina High School quarterback George Johnson.

Garrett Pendleton's night: After breaking his arm the week before football season began, Garrett Pendleton somehow played 10 games in 2010. The Bonita High School quarterback would've given it all back for the last 24 seconds of his senior year.

For a look at Keith Birmingham's championship photo gallery, click thread.

Highlights and interviews with the Inland Insider, Tom Kiss

Arroyo Tournament: California High School came from behind in the second half to knock off West Covina 54-47 in the quarterfinals of the Arroyo Invitational boys basketball tournament on Wednesday. The Condors (2-2) will face Keppel, a 58-54 winner over Walnut, in Friday's semifinals at 6 p.m. Arcadia, a 56-53 winner over Bishop Amat will face La Canada in the other semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The winners play on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., for the championship.

Wednesday's quarterfinal results
La Canada 71, Montclair 47
Arcadia 56, Bishop Amat 53
Keppel 58, Walnut 54
California 54, West Covina 47
Friday's semifinals
Keppel vs. California, 6 p.m.
La Canada vs. Arcadia, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's championship, 7:30 p.m.

Of the 13 championships this weekend, two are played at Angel Stadium, one is played at a community college and seven are played at the home field of schools hosting the title. Only three games were moved to alternate high school sites, two of which are here in the Valley, Bonita moving its game to Walnut and Monrovia moving its game to Arcadia. I still don't get it, are we really saying Bonita and Monrovia couldn't handle the large traveling parties of West Covina and Whittier Christian. Are the Bulldogs and Heralds fans so massive that Walnut and Arcadia were better choices? I still disagree, especially when I see so many teams using their advantage and playing at home.

CIF-Southern Section championship games
Friday's championships
Southeast Division
West Covina (12-1) vs. Bonita (12-1) at Walnut, 7 p.m.
Inland Division
Vista Murrieta (12-1) at Corona Centennial (13-0), 7:30 p.m.
Northern Division
Westlake (12-1) at Oaks Christian (11-2), 7:30 p.m.
Western Division
Arroyo Grande (11-2) at Serra (13-0), 7 p.m.
Central Division
Colton (10-3) at Rancho Verde (13-0), 7:30 p.m.
Southern Division
Garden Grove (12-1) vs. Beckman (8-5) at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.
Northwest Division
South Torrance (12-1) at Lompoc (10-3), 7 p.m.

Saturday's championships
Pac-5 Division
Mission Viejo (13-0) vs. Servite (13-0) at Angel Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
Southwest Division
Tustin (12-1) vs. La Habra (10-3) at Angel Stadium, 2 p.m.
Eastern Division
Summit (10-2-1) at Elsinore (11-2), 7 p.m.
Mid-Valley Division
Whittier Christian (12-1) vs. Monrovia (11-2) at Arcadia, 7:30 p.m.
East Valley Division
Paraclete (12-1) vs. Sierra Canyon (12-1) at Granada Hills, 7:30 p.m.
Northeast Division
Boron (12-1) at Bishop (12-1), 6 p.m.

Clay Fowler, Staff Writer
St. Lucy's senior Deanna Dalton was named the CIF-SS Division 2AA volleyball Player of the Year on Tuesday, and St. Lucy's coach Sean Douglas was named Coach of the Year after leading the Regents to their first CIF championship in school history. Dalton, who finished with 242 kills and 250 digs, helped St. Lucy's win the CIF-SS Division 2AA title on Nov. 20 and the CIF State tournament Southern California final on Nov. 30. Senior middle blocker Alissa Young and junior setter Jackie Macy of St. Lucy's were named first-team all-CIF. (To continue, click thread).

"You dream of having opportunities like this," Johnson said. "You can't let the hype, the media or what they're saying in the newspapers get to you. But you recognize it's a big game, the biggest game. You don't want to come this far and lose. You just don't. You know how this goes: people don't remember who finished second, they remember who won the championship." -- Bonita running back Giomani Johnson

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Bonita High School running back Giomani Johnson was sitting at his table when Fox Sports analyst Chris McGee spoke at Monday's CIF-Southern Section champions luncheon in Long Beach. McGee repeated a famous quote U.S. hockey coach Herb Brooks delivered to his team before beating the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics in what many consider the greatest upset in the history of American sports. Brooks said, "Great moments are born from great opportunities." Johnson was listening and has been taking advantage of his chances during the Bearcats' playoff run. (To continue click thread).

"I'm not sure there's a magic bullet to stop them. We just have to play better and hope we get some breaks. They're pretty darn good. They're awfully loaded with running backs. And probably their offense is the best we've faced in a couple years. -- Bonita coach Eric Podley

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
The memory of Bonita High School's 55-21 loss to West Covina on Oct. 29, and how it happened, still burns bright for Bearcats football coach Eric Podley. That night, the Bearcats were beaten badly by West Covina's big-play potential and a lack of cash-in opportunities when they had the ball deep in Bulldogs territory. It added up to an uncharacteristic loss from which Bonita has bounced back with five consecutive wins and a rematch with West Covina in Friday's 7 p.m. CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division championship game at Walnut High.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Wednesday's boxscores, click thread.

This should give Bonita fans encouragement, Eric "L.A. Times" Sondheimer is going green on Friday, his prediction: Bonita 38, West Covina 35 in what he's calls his "upset special." He's also taking Monrovia over Whittier Christian, 21-20.

The L.A. Times' Eric Sondheimer on Sunday's state bowl selection: For me, Centennial has been the best team I've seen all season when it comes to offense, defense and special teams. But strength of schedule matters, and the Pac-5 champion will have the stronger schedule. You know what else, if West Covina had beaten Covina and entered 13-0 in Friday's championship, would the Bulldogs be in line for a state bowl bid? Probably not, not without a major win on the resume. If they had scheduled Bishop Amat or Mater Dei like in years past and won, and were undefeated, then you could make a strong case for a state bowl bid.

Inside Tuesday Boxscores
Boys Hoops: Fresh off winning the Baldwin Park/Sierra Vista tournament, the Glendora boys soccer team is 6-0 after beating Kennedy 56-53 in overtime in round-robin play in the Fullerton tournament, where Ayala got a win too....
Girls Hoops: Bonita beats Chaffey 62-26 to improve to 2-0 in the Covina tournament, where it could meet Bishop Amat in Saturday's final.
Girls Soccer: Lauren Stupin scores two goals in Los Altos' 4-0 win over Kennedy, and reigning player of the year April Juarez scored four goals in Amat's 7-0 win over Wilson to improve to 6-0.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Tuesday's boxscores, click thread.

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
The West Covina High School football team is running its way to a CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division championship. What type of running? Well that depends on which ball carrier of the several that Bulldogs coach Mike Maggiore has to choose from is handling the rock. There's speedster Beejay Lee. Then there's bruiser Aaron Salgado. There's also Jimmy Frazier and Charles Tucker, who combine a little of Salgado's bruising style with a hint of Lee's speed. Last but not least, the star of the group is Chris Solomon, who has breakaway speed, good power and cutback ability. With a group so talented, it's no wonder that West Covina (12-1) will take on Bonita (12-1) for the division title at 7 p.m. Friday at Walnut High. (To continue, click thread

"We're looking forward to this game. We're healthy, it's not like the first time around. We're playing a lot harder too, we've got our postseason minds going on right now." -- Bonita running back Giomani Johnson

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
In Garrett Pendleton's defense, when the Bonita High School quarterback faced West Covina on Oct. 29, it was just his fourth game since returning from an elbow injury. Although Pendleton threw for 279 yards and a touchdown in the Bearcats' 55-21 loss, he was sacked six times and threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown late in the first half that turned what could have been a 20-20 halftime score into a 27-13 Bulldogs lead. (To continue, click thread)

Boys Basketball
Arroyo Invitational
Monday first-round results
Top Bracket
La Canada 61, La Puente 50
Montclair 55, Wilson 40
Arcadia 58, Los Altos 46
Bishop Amat 62, South El Monte 40
Bottom Bracket
Keppel 76, Baldwin Park 50
Walnut 59, Monrovia 57
California 48, Arroyo 46
West Covina 57, Alta Loma 39

Tuesday's second-round consolation
At Arroyo High School
Wilson 57, La Puente 47
South El Monte 65, Los Altos 63
Baldwin Park 63, Monrovia 45
Alta Loma 50, Arroyo 47

Wednesday's quarterfinals
At Arroyo High School
La Canada vs. Montclair, 7:30 p.m.
Arcadia vs. Bishop Amat, 6:30 p.m.
Keppel vs. Walnut, 3 p.m.
California vs. West Covina, 4:30 p.m.

By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer
Azusa Pacific University hasn't quite lived up to the billing of being the NAIA preseason favorite during the first month of the men's basketball season, but Tuesday night was the exception. Reggie Owens scored 15 points and Danny Nugent had 12, and the No. 9 Cougars rolled to a 71-57 victory over archrival Biola in a Golden State Athletic Conference game at the Felix Event Center. APU, also getting 11 points from Marshall Johnson, improved to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The No. 16 Eagles, getting 17 points from Curtis Eatmon, lost for the first time this season, dropping to 7-1 and 2-1.

By Mike Robledo
It was a great ride this season covering the SGV on Coveritlive. This being my first full year riding shotgun as your host on Coveritlive, I got to cover 18 different teams over the course of a 15-week season. I covered games from the stands (Dominguez & Alemany), the roof of a press box (Ganesha High) and nearly froze to death on a 50-foot platform at Muir High. With the exception of a school I will not name, each and every school was gracious in allowing me to bring you Coveritlive.
A very special thanks to all the readers who logged on and participated. We certainly gained momentum in viewership and participation as the playoffs progressed. During last weekend's dual Coveritlive with Fred and myself, we peaked at over 2000 comments during the course of the evening.
A final thanks to Fred for having the faith to send his little cousin to bring you these games. There were more than a few occasions when Fred (and even Aram) would upset the masses with a blog post or an opinion in a column, then readers would spot me in the press box and let me have it, thinking I was Fred. Your passion comes through not only here on Fred's blog, but at the games as well. It's what High School sports is all about.
Entering the final weekend of the 2010 football season, here are some of my memorable (and not so memorable) moments this football year on Coveritlive: (To continue, click thread)

We're in the process of selecting the 2010 Tribune All-Area football team, which includes player and coach of the year and the top 25 position players, but there will be a twist, it will not be published in the newspaper. Instead, we're publishing the all-area team in our TribXtra magazine that will run the first week of January and be available to all subscribers and those who wish to buy a copy from the racks or in our office at the Tribune. The magazine will include a first-ever prestigious San Gabriel Valley all-encompassing top 25 football players selected from the Tribune and Star-News coverage areas. The best part, however, is we will still honor and picture traditional all-area teams from the Tribune and Star-News. Essentially, what you have is three teams, the All-Encompassing all-area and the Tribune and Star-News all-area selections all in one magazine, which includes coach and player of the year from each area. There is not "one" player of the year from each area, instead, the cover will feature the player of the year from the Star-News and Tribune. With more space to work with, we also will select for the first time offensive and defensive players of the year, one each from the Star-News and Tribune coverage areas. It's a huge project and a lot of fun, but we think the players, fans and families will enjoy it. When I get a firm publication date, I will pass it along.

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Monday's, click thread.

Monday's results
Northview 42, Don Lugo 38
Roosevelt 74, Charter Oak 11
West Covina 58, Alta Loma 38
Bishop Amat 67, El Rancho 38
Tuesday's games
At Covina HS
Chaffey vs. Bonita, 3:30 p.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Rowland, 5 p.m.
Eastside vs. Valley Christian, 6:30 p.m.
South Hills vs. Covina, 8 p.m.
Wednesday's Quarterfinals
At Northview High School
West Covina vs. Roosevelt, 6:30 p.m.
Bishop Amat vs. Northview, 8 p.m.
At Covina High School
Chaffey/Bonita winner vs. South Hills/Covina winner, 3:30 p.m.
Sierra Vista/Rowland winner vs. Eastside/Valley Christian winner

1:40 p.m. update: The game will be at Walnut HS, 7 p.m. on Friday. Bonita considered hosting the game at home, but the cost of bringing in extra bleachers combined with more than 50 percent of the gate going to CIF made it difficult to do financially.
8:30 a.m : I spoke with Bonita coach Eric Podley this morning before the Bearcats headed to Long Beach for the championship luncheon and he said Walnut High School is looking like the strongest possibility for Friday's championship venue against top-seed West Covina. They hope to have Walnut locked in by the end of the day.

Funny moment at the championship luncheon in Long Beach today when Fox announcer Chris Mc Gee introduced analyst John Jackson (Amat grad) in front of all the championship participants. He said, "Is Bishop Amat here J.J.?" .. Everyone laughed and Jackson said. "They should be here -- bad call."

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 (5-1); Ramirez (4-2).
Season: Robledo (194-56); Ramirez (188-62).

Last week: Steve tried to make a run at me but I went 5-for-6, missing, you guessed it, taking La Serna over Bonita. Steve picked Bonita correctly, but missed taking San Dimas over Monrovia and Village Christian over Western Christian. So, for the second year in a row, Stevie owes me lunch.

This week: There is only one game left to pick, but I would like to point out if you go back to my pre-playoff division predictions I almost nailed it. I called Bonita-West Covina in the championship game of the Southeast. Called Mission Viejo and Servite in the final of the Pac-5. Called Corona Centennial and Vista Murrieta in the final of the Inland? And picked Monrovia in the Mid-Valley title game, though I had them playing Azusa not Whittier Christian. In any case, you probably figured I was taking West Covina in Friday's Southeast championship. I'll explain more on the two-minute drill later in the week, but Bonita hasn't done anything in the playoffs that would make me switch, though I do think it will be a much, much closer game than West Covina's 55-21 win earlier this year. West Covina will not play that good the same night Bonita plays that bad. Not again. Believe me, this game will be tight in the fourth quarter.

This week's games and predictions
CIF-SS Southeast Championship
Friday's game
West Covina vs. Bonita at TBA, 7:30 p.m. -- Robledo (West Covina); Ramirez (West Covina)

Great local basketball this week, Bishop Amat, Los Altos, Walnut and West Covina all in the Arroyo boys basketball tournament. The Covina girls tournament looks great too. I'm making an easy prediction right now that Bishop Amat will face Bonita in the championship on Saturday night.

Boys Basketball
Arroyo Invitational
Monday Night's opening games
Top Bracket @ South El Monte HS
Bishop Amat vs. South El Monte, 3 p.m.
Arcadia vs. Los Altos, 4:30 p.m.
Wilson vs. Montclair, 6 p.m.
La Canada vs. La Puente, 7:30 p.m.
Bottom Bracket @ Arroyo HS
Keppel vs. Baldwin Park, 3 p.m.
Monrovia vs. Walnut, 4:30 p.m.
California vs. Arroyo, 6 p.m.
West Covina vs. Alta Loma, 7:30 p.m.
Note: Loser's bracket second round is on Tuesday, winners bracket second round all at Arroyo continues on Wednesday. This is a bracket tournament.

Girls Basketball
Covina Classic
Monday's games at Covina HS
Don Lugo vs. Northview, 3:30 p.m.
Charter Oak vs. Roosevelt, 5 p.m.
West Covina vs. Alta Loma, 6 p.m.
El Rancho vs. Bishop Amat, 8 p.m.
Tuesday's games at Covina HS
Chaffey vs. Bonita, 3:30 p.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Rowland, 5 p.m.
Eastside vs. Valley Christian, 6:30 p.m.
South Hills vs. Covina 8 p.m.

Duarte High School
Ella Hudson Girls Classic
Monday's round robin
Montclair vs. South El Monte, 3 p.m.
Glendora vs. Montclair Prep, 4:30 p.m.
Tustin vs. Keppel, 6 p.m.
Tuesday's round robin
Duarte vs. Keppel, 3 p.m.
South El Monte vs. Glendale, 4:30 p.m.
Montclair Prep vs. Montclair, 6 p.m.
El Monte vs. Tustin, 7:30 p.m.

Aram Column: Aram spent the first half at Bonita-La Serna and the second half at San Dimas-Bonita ... wrote Aram, "If you would have told me back in September that on a cold December night I'd be splitting time between Bonita and San Dimas watching both play for a shot at a 14th game, I would've told you to stop smoking your newspaper."

Breaking News: Aram talked to Bonita coach Eric Podley who said Citrus and Mt. SAC are not options. Apparently, Bonita is shopping for venues as I'm typing this. Looks like Walnut and Damien are options.

Bonita has the home game in the rematch against West Covina. If I could drive almost two hours to watch Rosemead play at Paraclete H.S. in a December championship (2008), why shouldn't Bonita ask for a home game too? I thought Diamond Ranch buckled last year when they could have hosted the game at Ganesha instead of playing at Ayala. The year Diamond Ranch hosted the game at Mt. SAC, which was Charter Oak's preference even though the Panthers had the home game. If Bonita could host a Smudge Pot, they could host a title game. I'm guessing West Covina will want Mt. SAC or Citrus, stay tuned. On Monday, we're following the teams to Long Beach for the championships luncheon.

Southeast Division Semifinal
Bonita 21, La Serna 16 -- The Bonita High School football team etched its name in the history of the program on Saturday in more ways than one, coach Eric Podley said. "Ugliest win in the history of Bearcats football," Podley said, "but we'll take it."

Mid-Valley Division Semifinal
Monrovia 47, San Dimas 14 -- Monrovia's determination was too much for the Saints to overcome, plus the Saints hurt themselves with six turnovers. Still, Monrovia was just better. Quarterback Nick Bueno completed 12 of 22 for 204 yards, rushed for two scores and threw for a score. Christian Blanco was big too, carrying 21 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns. Jay Henderson had eight catches for 157 yards. The Cats advance to their tenth championship appearance against Whittier Christian on Saturday. For the Saints, QB Shawn Kennedy was 7 of 15 for 82 yards with two INTs. Jordan Taylor rushed for 46 yards.

By John Honell, Correspondent
Glendora High School's boys basketball team finally found its shooting eye and dominated the boards Saturday, defeating Rowland 63-45 to win the Baldwin Park-Sierra Vista Winter Tip Off Tournament. The Tartans (5-0) hit four of seven 3-point shots in the first half and shot 50 percent from the field. "We started to compete in the second half (Friday) night against Diamond Bar," Tartans coach Mike LeDuc said. "We carried it over to tonight. When you're shooting the ball pretty good, you start to get a real confidence about you, and everything gets easier."

Friday's Results
Southeast Division semifinals
West Covina 28, Mayfair 19 -- Bulldogs advance to next week's Southeast championship, either at La Serna or Bonita. With the Bulldogs up 21-19, Mayfair's Stephan Uribe popped up a 24-yard, go-ahead field goal and kicked it short with just over five minutes minutes left. The Bulldogs then drove 80 yards and clinched it on a George Johnson 14-yard TD run. For a team that hasn't been in a tight game in months, you have to love how they dealt with adversity and got it done. That's more impressive than another blowout.

Inland Division semifinals
Corona Centennial 42, Chino Hills 23 -- What if, what if, what it ... that's how a lot of Chino Hills folks will feel about this. The three on-side kicks? The end of first half disaster, reminiscent of the way Amat unfolded at Alemany. But you found your answer, Chino Hills not only could play with this team, they could have beaten them too, giving the state's top-ranked team their toughest game of the season. Chino Hills played absolutely flawless, scoring to go-ahead 10-7 with 1:25 left until half when an on-side kick and a quick three-and-out allowed Centennial to score 14 points to close the half, the second coming on a breathtaking finish by QB Michael Eubank, throwing a touchdown as time expired after scrambling away from trouble. Just like that, Chino Hills was down 21-10. They fought back again, closing the gap to 28-23 with 11 minutes left but by that time, Centennial had an answer, closing the show with big plays in the fourth quarter. The 42 points were the fewest Centennial has scored all year and the 23 they gave up matched the most all season too. Eubank threw for 205 yards and rushed for 122 more. RB Barrington Collins rushed for three touchdowns and 64 yards.

Mid-Valley result: Whittier Christian 43, Village Christian 42, OT

The Inland Insider with highlights and interviews from Corona Centennial's victory over Chino Hills

LIVE BLOGGING: A Coveritlive special tonight co-hosted by Mike "The Cousin" Robledo and myself. I will be live blogging from Chino Hills-Centennial and Mike will be doing the same from West Covina-Mayfair. Just click on the thread and follow the action.

CIF-Southern Section championship venue hosts for the Inland, Southeast and Mid-Valley football divisions already have been taken after coin-flips earlier in the week. Hosts can play the game at home if they can prove their stadium is capable of hosting a title or at a nearby facility. In the Southeast, Bonita would be at home against West Covina or Mayfair and West Covina would be the road team for Bonita or La Serna. In the Mid-Valley, San Dimas is home against Village Christian and on the road against Whittier Christian. Monrovia is home no matter what. In the Inland, Chino Hills would be home against Vista and on the road against Rancho Cucamonga. The Southeast and Inland championships are Friday, the Mid-Valley is on Saturday.

Baldwin Park/Sierra Vista Tournament
Boys Basketball
Tonight's semifinals
Rowland vs. Covina at Sierra Vista HS, 7:30 p.m.
Diamond Bar vs. Glendora, 7:30 p.m., at Baldwin Park, HS, 7:30 p.m.
Championship: 8:30 p.m., Baldwin Park HS.

Bishop Amat: The Lancers girls soccer team defeated Kennedy 4-0 to capture the Artestia Tournament and improve to 5-0. Chelsea Villegas, Yazmin Montoya, Selena Quazaza and Joni Gener all scored for the Lancers.

For Thursday's boys and girls basketball, soccer, wrestling and water polo boxscores, click thread. If you would like your results to appear in the newspaper and the blog, please call 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242. Or, you can email them to scores@sgvn.com.

Impact Players: Bishop Amat High School's April Juarez (left) with Los Altos High School's Tara Cofer (center) and Walnut High School's Amber Marani (right).

By Fred J. Robledo
The wealth of girls soccer talent is spread throughout the East San Gabriel Valley, which was proved again last season. Sierra Vista won a CIF-Southern Section Division 7 title for the school's first-ever team sports championship. Bishop Amat and Los Altos advanced to the Division 4 semifinals, losing heartbreakers and spoiling the anticipation of a rematch after tying in a non-league game earlier in the season. Walnut, St. Lucy's and Glendora always have been perennial threats, but have suffered competing in tough playoff divisions. (To read the rest of the girls soccer top ten, click thread)

SGVN Girls Soccer pre-season top ten
Team, (2009-10 record)
1. Bishop Amat (27-1-2)
2. Walnut (14-3-4)
3. Los Altos (25-2-2)
4. Ayala (15-9-2)
5. St. Lucy's (12-10-3)
6. Glendora (11-11-3)
7. San Dimas (16-4-2)
8. Bonita (11-8-3)
9. South Hills (11-9-1)
10. Sierra Vista (24-4-1)

Xavier Jones collapsed during a Thanksgiving-eve practice and was revived by the quick thinking of head coach Eric Cooper. Jones has been diagnosed with a similar heart condition that killed Loyola Marymount basketball star Hank Gathers, who collapsed during a game after a dunk in 1990. Fortunately, Jones is alert and feeling better at Pomona Valley hospital, where his family and doctors are mapping out his road to recovery.

Above: La Verne Lutheran basketball player Xavier Jones, 17, recovers after collapsing and going into a coma last week during basketball practice. He is being visited by his dad David Jones, center, and basketball head coach Eric Cooper at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010.

By Bethania Palma Markus, Staff Writer
Quick thinking by a coach meant a high school basketball stand-out and his family had his life to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.
Last Wednesday, senior forward Xavier Jones, 17, collapsed during practice for the champion La Verne Lutheran basketball team. But head coach Eric Cooper reacted immediately and was able to revive the athlete. "He saved his life," father David Jones said of Cooper. The coach said he happened to be especially prepared to deal with the emergency. By chance, he had gone through a CPR tutorial application on his iPhone the night before the incident, he said. (To continue, click thread).

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Wednesday's results, click thread.

"I think they haven't seen a team that throws as much as we do. That will be an interesting matchup - our passing game versus their pass defense. They do an excellent job versus the run, but we'll be interested in testing those back four." -- Bonita coach Eric Podley on facing La Serna in Saturday's Southeast Semifinals.

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Advancing to the championship game of the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs appears to be a pretty simple proposition for the Bonita High School football team, according to its coach, Eric Podley. The Bearcats (11-1) will have to play near-perfect football against La Serna (11-1) on Saturday night because the Lancers simply don't give anything away. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Bonita. (To continue click thread).

Above: Mountain View soccer players Manuel Garcia, left, Oswaldo Martinez, Eduardo Naranjo and Jesus Valdez at Mountain High School on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, in El Monte. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Birmingham)

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The newly formed Hacienda League and CIF-Southern Section divisional realignment are the newest wrinkles to the 2010-11 boys soccer season. Back-to-back Division 6 champion Mountain View, winner of three titles since 2005, will be moving to Division 5, which will be much tougher but still winnable with Salesian leaving for Division 4. The Mission Valley League champion will be joined in Division 5 by the Valle Vista League, which boasts two-time defending champion Baldwin Park, and the neighboring Rio Hondo League, but there are several other difficult leagues in the division, such as the Tri-Valley, Pac-7, Harbor and Garden Grove leagues, to name a few. (To continue reading top ten, click thread).

SGVN Boys Soccer pre-season top ten rankings
Team (2009-10 Record)
1. Mountain View (16-4-5)
2. Sierra Vista (18-5-1)
3. Diamond Bar (12-8-1)
4. Los Altos (16-5-4)
5. Chino Hills (13-8-5)
6. Bonita (7-11-2)
7. Glendora (17-5-5)
8. La Puente (12-3-6)
9. Baldwin Park (24-1-1)
10. Ganesha (12-6-3)

Mike "The Cousin" Robledo and I will do live blogs on Coveritlive Friday and Saturday night. We will live blog West Covina at Mayfair and Centennial at Chino Hills on Friday. On Saturday, will will host Monrovia at San Dimas and La Serna at Bonita.

"We are 6-0 at home, so we feel like we play better here. I can only guess it's going to be a packed house on Friday, and if it is, that's one of few places I think the odds are in our favor." -- Chino Hills coach Derek Bub on facing undefeated powerhouse Corona Centennial on Friday.

Above: Can anyone stop this guy? Corona Centennial QB Michael Eubank.

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
When it comes to star power, Corona Centennial High School's football team has everybody in the Inland Division over a barrel, but Chino Hills coach Derek Bub is hoping his standout can share the stage well enough in Friday's semifinals to pull off what would be a monumental upset. For Centennial, the big attraction is quarterback Michael Eubank, who at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds has become a college recruiter's dream. Eubank has thrown for 2,327 yards and rushed for 972. He also owns a 20-to-2 touchdowns- to-interceptions ratio. (To continue, click thread).

By Tyler Drohan, Correspondent
The 2010-11 girls basketball season is set to tip off with some familiar teams at the top, separated by very little. Traditional powerhouses Bishop Amat and Diamond Ranch are close, while Bonita finds itself sandwiched in between the two, the three teams fighting to prove who's the best in the San Gabriel Valley. Diamond Ranch and Bonita make up part of the newly formed Hacienda League, which will include traditional San Antonio League power Walnut as well as Diamond Bar, West Covina, Los Altos and Rowland. (To continue reading about the girls top ten, click thread).

Above: Diamond Ranch Girls Basketball standouts Chelsea Barnes (left) and Erika Williams getting ready for the season for No. 1 Panthers.

SGVN Girls Basketball Preseason Top Ten
1. Diamond Ranch
2. Bonita
3. Bishop Amat
4. Walnut
5. Chino Hills
6. St. Lucy's
7. Ayala
8. South Hills
9. Duarte
10. Sierra Vista

For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Tuesday's results, click thread.

By Clay Fowler, Staff Writer
Just when the St. Lucy's Priory girls volleyball team was beginning to appreciate the CIF State playoffs, they were over. After claiming the first CIF championship in school history 11 days ago, the Regents found themselves 15 points away from a trip to the state championship Tuesday night. "Our goal at the beginning of the year was to win CIF," St. Lucy's head coach Sean Douglas said. "Getting re-ready for state was difficult because it wasn't really on our radar."