2010 Tribune All-Area Football: West Covina’s Chris Solomon and coach Mike Maggiore share top honors; Bishop Amat’s Jalen Moore and West Covina’s Maurice Dupleasis offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively

The 2010 Tribune All-Area team is in today’s PrepXtra Magazine, which you will find packaged in today’s Tribune with stories online on our Tribune prep page. The magazine includes a San Gabriel Valley all-encompassing team, plus the selections from the Pasadena Star-News as well. Hope you enjoy, you can always purchase copies of PrepXtra at the Tribune or Star-News offices as well.

Tribune coach of the year: Mike Maggiore, West Covina
Tribune player of the year: Chris Solomon, West Covina, Jr.
Tribune offensive player of the year: Jalen Moore, Bishop Amat, Jr.
Tribune defensive player of the year: Maurice Dupleasis, West Covina, Sr.
For stories on all of the above, including Aram’s column, click thread

Tribune First-Team Offense
QB – Garrett Pendleton, Bonita, Sr.
RB – Jalen Moore, Bishop Amat, Jr.
RB – Jamel Hart, South Hills, Jr.
WR – Aaron Dockery, Claremont, Jr.
WR – Anthony Miller, Arroyo, Sr.
WR – Dennis Rufus, Charter Oak, Sr.
OL – Christian Orduno, Bishop Amat. Sr.
OL – Tarez Lemmons, Bonita, Sr.
OL – Allen Brown, San Dimas, Sr.
OL – Joseph Gibson, West Covina, Sr.
OL – Nick Enriquez, Chino Hills, Jr.
ALL – Beejay Lee, West Covina, Sr.
K – Brandt Davis, Bonita, So
Tribune First-team Defense
DL – Julian Gener, Amat, Sr.
DL – Auston Johnson, Chino Hills, Sr.
DL – Edwin Garcia, Azusa, Sr.
LB – Maurice Dupleasis, West Covina, Sr.
LB – K.C. Huth, Bonita, Sr.
LB – Giamani Johnson, Bonita, Sr.
LB – Jose Nunez, Azusa, Sr.
DB – Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Chino Hills, Sr.
DB – Demetrius Jackson, Baldwin Park, Sr.
DB – Vinny Venegas, Covina, Jr
DB – Anthony Molina, West Covina, Sr.
P – Christian Fulham, Glendora, So.


Tribune second-team offense
QB – Daniel Kessler, Claremont, Sr.
RB – Matt Fregoso, Rosemead, Sr.
RB – Jacoby Carter, Diamond Ranch, Sr
WR – Aubrey Coleman, Walnut, Sr.
WR – Kevin Kolbeck, San Dimas. Sr
WR – Wallace Gonzalez, Bishop Amat, Sr.
OL – William Regis, Glendora, Sr.
OL – Travis Doll, Charter Oak, Sr.
OL – Sioasi Aiono, South Hills, Sr.
OL – Mark Laffin, West Covina, Sr.
OL – Jeff Vargas, South Hills, Sr,
ALL – Rio Ruiz, Bishop Amat, Jr.
K – Jeff Stamp, Diamond Ranch, Sr.
Tribune second-team defense
DL – Sam Torres, Arroyo, Sr,
DL – Charlie Avila, Charter Oak, Sr,
DL – Justen Meaders, West Covina, Jr.
LB – Wardell Crutchfield, Baldwin Park, Sr.
LB – Michael Juarez, Amat, Sr
LB – Eric Mikity, Bonita, Sr
LB – Joseph Herrera, Gladstone, Sr.
DB – Nate Harris, Chino Hills,. Sr.
DB – Michael Ball, Rowland, Sr.
DB – Matt Gelalich, Bonita. Sr.
DB – Brian Nieto, Azusa, Sr.
P – Donny Hageman, Damien, Jr.

ARAM’S COLUMN ON TRIBXTRA ALL AREA TEAMS
As you can see, when it comes to this newspaper’s All-Area teams, the spoils really do go to the victors.
To say the Monrovia and West Covina High School football teams dominated this year’s picks of the best players is an understatement.
So, I won’t say it, but it’s obvious that’s what happened.
The Bulldogs went 13-1. The Wildcats went 12-2. Both teams were the last ones standing in their respective divisions and it wasn’t by mistake.
From line play, to skill players to special teams, both Monrovia and West Covina were truly special. For Monrovia, the 2010 team was able to bring home the first CIF championship in school history.
It was not only a season of firsts on the field, but also at the Tribune and Star-News. This year, we produced a season preview magazine that, while great, will be even better with some improvements next season.
And now, to wrap up the season, we’ve gone back to the magazine style and brought the schools of the two newspapers together to produce our first All-Area team that combines players from the Star-News and Tribune zones.
Obviously, these are the very best of the best, in our opinion. These are the players who will not soon be forgotten in a season that will be remembered forever in two different places.
It’s never easy making these lists. It’s an imprecise formula of weighing teams with varying attendance levels competing in divisions that often don’t have much in common.
But after deploying our troops of writers to all the games from September to December, we’ve got a pretty good idea what we’re doing.
As you’ll find in the coming pages, 2010 was a season like no other.
From Nick Bueno’s great all-around effort to Chris Solomon’s running wild to Matt Fregoso’s record-breaking run, the San Gabriel Valley is alive and well when it comes to football.
Now it’s time to honor the individuals who make it happen in the best way possible.

ALL ENCOMPASSING SAN GABRIEL VALLEY FIRST TEAM
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

QB – Nick Bueno, Monrovia, Sr.
RB – Jalen Moore, Bishop Amat, Jr.
RB – Chris Solomon, West Covina, Jr.
RB – Matt Fregoso, Rosemead, Sr,
WR – Dennis Rufus, Charter Oak
WR – Jay Henderson, Monrovia, Sr.
OL – Joseph Gibson, West Covina, Sr.
OL – Allen Brown, San Dimas, Sr.
OL – Christian Orduno, Bishop Amat, Sr.
OL – Dean Bisterfeldt, Monrovia, Sr.
OL – Chris Salgado, Alhambra, Sr.
ALL – B.J. Lee, West Covina, Sr.
PK – Brandt Davis, Bonita, So.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Julian Gener, Amat, Sr.
DL – Auston Johnson, Chino Hills, Sr
DL – Ellis McCarthy, Monrovia, Jr.
LB – Mo Dupleasis, West Covina, Sr
LB – Derrick Johnson, Monrovia, Sr.
LB – KC Huth, Bonita, Sr.
LB – Jose Nunez, Azusa, Sr.
DB – Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Chino Hills, Sr
DB – Demetrius Jackson, Baldwin Park
DB – Vinny Venegas, Covina, Jr.
DB – Anthony Molina, West Covina
P – Christian Fulham, Glendora, So.

MIKE MAGGIORE, TRIBUNE COACH OF THE YEAR
By Aram Tolegian Staff Writer
Mike Maggiore has always had designs on turning West Covina High School’s football program into one of the best in Southern California.
The 15th-year coach has done things through the years like take on difficult nonleague opponents in hopes of breaking through.
The Bulldogs have played the likes of Bishop Amat, Mater Dei and Mission Viejo during their nonleague schedule. But nothing says breakthrough like a CIF championship.
In 2004, Maggiore got West Covina a CIF title by taking his third-place Bulldogs on an improbable march through the postseason that culminated with a win over South Hills in the championship game.
This year, West Covina went in the through the front door.
The Bulldogs went 9-1 in the regular season, won the Hacienda League, got the Southeast Division’s top seed and rallied to beat Bonita for the school’s second CIF title in seven years.
For those reasons, Maggiore is the Tribune’s Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
“At this time last year, on paper, before we even started, we thought we might have a pretty good team,” Maggiore said. “In spring football we had a little bit more in terms of athleticism and the attitude was really different. That’s when I knew.”
Team insiders and most of the Bulldogs’ players will tell you the season was won in the weight room during offseason workouts when the team stamped itself the strongest of the Maggiore era.
But once on the field, West Covina was immediately plagued by something that has hurt many Bulldogs campaigns in the past — self-destruction.
West Covina led Covina 21-2 in the fourth quarter of its season opener before the Colts stormed back for a 27-21 win. The loss showed
Maggiore and his staff the one flaw they needed to correct in order to deliver on all the team’s physical promise.
After the Covina loss, no team came within single digits of West Covina until Mayfair played the Bulldogs to a 28-19 result in the semifinals.
“I didn’t want an opportunity like this to pass us by without making the most of it,” Maggiore said. “A lot of guys coach 30 years and never get an opportunity like this.”
With two CIF titles in the last seven years, Maggiore now has West Covina on the brink of reaching his vision of being one of the top programs in the Southland.
Next year, the Bulldogs will play traditional power Loyola in the nonleague and then be favored again to defend their Southeast Division title. Not bad considering where the program was when Maggiore tooK over.
“When I started in 1996, there wasn’t a lot of pride around here and passion for football,” Maggiore said. “I think people might see us a little differently now as compared to after we won in ’04. We might have stepped the program up a little bit. I want to be able to play the teams like Amat, Loyola and Mater Dei and beat them, not just play with them.
“I know we’re going to be competitive every year, but the basis for everything starts in the weight room. We start in January.”

TRIBUNE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, CHRIS SOLOMON, WEST COVINA
By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Standing out on a team of standouts is not an easy thing to do, but West Covina High School’s Chris Solomon did just that in 2010.
The Bulldogs went 13-1, routed the Hacienda League and won the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division thanks to a bevy of big plays that came from any number of talented skill players. At the heart of it all was Solomon, the go-to running back who never disappointed in the rare moments his team needed something clutch to happen.
After rushing for 1,958 yards, 23 touchdowns, returning a kickoff for touchdown, making 90 tackles on defense, including 12 for a loss, recovering four fumbles and taking two back for scores, Solomon is the Tribune’s 2010 Player of the Year.
“Honestly, I never thought I would be able to be Player of the Year,” Solomon said. “When I was younger, like 8 or 9, I was one of those young guys looking at the high school field and saying ‘Imagine if I could be one of those guys.’
“Now, it’s here and I’ve won so many awards and broke so many records,it’s just like a dream.”
Only a junior, Solomon burst on the scene right away. While his teammates also get their fill of rushing yards and long touchdown runs, Solomon always had more.
After West Covina suffered a stunning loss to Covina in its season opener, Solomon helped the Bulldogs bounce back and announced his arrival by running for 298 yards and three touchdowns the following week in a win over Venice.
Once West Covina got into league play, Solomon was bent on making sure his team never had a close game. West Covina beat the Hacienda League by an average of 30 points per game.
During the Bulldogs’ Week 8 showdown with then-undefeated Bonita, Solomon rushed for 190 yards, three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 98 yards for another score.
“He does everything well,” West Covina coach Mike Maggiore said of Solomon. “He’s got speed to break runs, he’s strong enough to get tough yards and he’s the best blocking back we have.
“He’s just a competitor and winner. He lifts as hard as a lineman and he runs track to get faster.”
The games got progressively tougher for West Covina once the playoffs began. The Bulldogs got their first good game in months in the semifinals against Mayfair. That night, Solomon did his part by rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown.
A week later, in the biggest game of the season and on the biggest stage, Solomon helped West Covina beat Bonita for a second time by rushing for 149 yards and three touchdowns.
Solomon started playing football for the West Covina Bruins when he was 8 years old. Back then, he was a wide receiver. A few years later, he converted to running back and fell in love with the position due to the amount of times he could touch the ball.
With this award and a CIF title in tow, there will no doubt be huge expectations for Solomon going into his senior season. As you might expect, he’s ready for it.
“I believe I can be even be better,” Solomon said. “From now, all the way into next season, I’m going to work my butt off so I can be the best running back West Covina has ever had or just the best running back anybody’s ever seen … if they want to say that.
“I’m just here to play ball, enjoy high school and try to play at the next level.”

TRIBUNE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, JALEN MOORE, BISHOP AMAT

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Being named the starting tailback at Bishop Amat is a badge of honor considering its great past, which includes some of the San Gabriel Valley’s all-time greats like Eric Bienemy, Donnie McCleskey, Michael
Wagner, Daylon McCutcheon and Rodney Sermons.
Amat’s Jalen Moore is well on his way to cementing his name along with those after a terrific junior season in which he helped the Lancers to an overall record of 9-2, and was named to the Serra League first-team list after rushing for 1,634 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Moore averaged 148 yards a game, rushing for a season-best 280 yards and four touchdowns against Loyola, which came after a 262-yard, two-touchdown performance against Crespi — both wins. Even in the
Lancers’ 38-30 loss to Alemany that cost them the league title, Moore did his best to keep them in it, rushing for 126 yards and four touchdowns. For his efforts, Moore has been selected the San Gabriel Valley Tribune’s offensive player of the year.
“Ever since I got here (Amat) I wanted to be the starting tailback,” Moore said. “I thought I had a pretty good year, but we didn’t reach our team goals. We want to come back next year and win the (Serra) league title and go deep in the playoffs. I think this year helped me get ready for my senior year. I can’t wait.” If Moore has another season similar to this one, he could finish among the top five in career rushing leaders at the school.
“It’s an honor to play here,” Moore said. “I always feel I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. That stuff (individual goals) is fine, but winning is the most important.”

TRIBUNE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, MAURICE DUPLEASIS, WEST COVINA
By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
For West Covina High School linebacker Maurice Dupleasis, the ending couldn’t have been scripted any better.
Dupleasis’ game-changing second-half interception in the CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division championship game against Bonita helped turn the tide in one of the most exciting finals in recent memory, won by the Bulldogs 37-33 in a fourth-quarter shootout that will be talked about for years to come.
“You can’t explain how good it feels, you really can’t,” Dupleasis said. “We were down the whole game and came back and won it. It still hasn’t hit me. It’s great knowing that five, 10 or 20 years from now, that’s my memory of my last high school football game.”
Dupleasis was the heart and soul of the Bulldogs’ defense and was named the Hacienda League’s defensive player of the year.
Dupleasis, who averaged 9 1/2 tackles and almost two sacks per game, was named to the Tribune first-team for the second consecutive year, and also has been selected the area’s defensive player of the year after leading the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record.
“You never know where hard work will lead you,” Dupleasis said. “I didn’t start playing football until I was a freshman. My junior year I started working out a lot and my senior year it was the same. You get what you put into it.
“I would never have guessed this is where I would be when my senior year ended. It was a great ride.”

Tribune players of the Year (1969-present)
1969 Fred McNeil, Baldwin Park RB
1970 Pat Haden, Bishop Amat QB and John McKay Jr., Bishop Amat WR
1971 Mike Vicino, Royal Oak RB
1972 Rob Hertel, Los Altos QB and Ron Himes, Walnut QB
1973 Dennis Sproul, Los Altos QB
1974 Brian Bethke, South Hills QB
1975 Richard Nyden, Azusa QB
and John Van Vuren, South Hills RB
1976 Bob Epps, West Covina DL
1977 Don Roberts, Temple City RB
1978 Ron Stivers, West Covina RB
1979 Ray McNeill, El Monte WR
and Danny Trejo, Baldwin Park WR
1980 Bill Stone, Charter Oak RB
1981 Blake Smith, Los AltosQB
and Steve Lauter, Los Altos WR
1982 Mike Smith, Los Altos QB
1983 Randy Tanner, Bishop Amat; Paul Hewitt, Monrovia
1984 Michael Johnson, Baldwin Park QB
1985 Eric Bieniemy, Bishop AmatRB
1986 Eric Bieniemy, Bishop Amat RB
1987 Bill Gallis, Northview QB
1988 Jason Martin, Los Altos TE/DB
1989 Marshawn Thompson, Bassett RB
1990 Jason Patterson, Bishop Amat FB/DE
1991 Marc Ruiz, Baldwin ParkQB
1992 Lawrence Phillips, Baldwin Park RB-DB
1993 Miguel Meriwether, West Covina QB/DB
1994 Daylon McCutcheon, Bishop Amat RB/FS
1995 Oscar Interiano, Sierra Vista RB
1996 Oscar Arzu, Sierra Vista RB
1997 Nick Covarrubias, Covina QB/DB
1998 Steve Stevenson, Charter Oak WR/RB/DB
1999 Jason Wright, Diamond Bar, RB/DB
2000 – Felipe Aguilar, Los Altos, QB
2001 – Donnie McCleskey, Bishop Amat RB
2002 – Daniel Drayton, Randall Brown, Los Altos RBs/DBs
2003 – Brigham Harwell, Los Altos DE
2004 – William Wagner, Bishop Amat RB
2005 – Mike McDonough, Covina QB
2006 – Mike McDonough, Covina QB
2007 – Dorian Wells, South Hills, RB
2008 – Chris Allen, Charter Oak, RB
2009 – Adam Muema, Charter Oak, RB
2010 – Chris Solomon, West Covina, RB

Tribune coaches of the Year (since 1988)
1988 Dwayne DeSpain, Los Altos
1989 Mark Pasquarella, Covina
1990 Tony Zane, Baldwin Park
1991 Tony Zane, Baldwin Park
1992 Mark Paredes, Bishop Amat
1993 Don LeGro, Sierra Vista
1994 Tom Salter, Bishop Amat
1995 Dick Sheehan, Covina
1996 Tom Caines, Wilson
1997 Frank Alonzo, Mountain View
1998 Terry Roche, Diamond Bar
1999 Larry Hatley, Bonita
2000 – Steve Bogan, South Hills
2001 – Matt Koffler, Rosemead
2002 – Greg Gano, Los Altos
2003 – Robert Oviedo, Wilson
2004 – Mike Maggiore, West Covina
2005 – Steve Bogan, South Hills
2006 – Lou Farrar, Charter Oak
2007 – Mark Pasquarella, Glendora
2008 – Lou Farrar, Charter Oak
2009 – Bill Zernickow, San Dimas
2010 – Mike Maggiore, West Covina

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