With the cancellation of the Montclair Prep athletic program, East Valley Division champ Paraclete has a week six (Oct. 14) opening on their football schedule and are looking to fill it. They can also make week two work if teams are looking. For those interested, contact coach Norm Dahlia at 661-810-5076 or email at ndahlia@paracletehs.org.
South Hills’ C.J. Saylor, Los Altos’ Joe Munoz, Bonita’s Justin Garza and Bishop Amat’s Rio Ruiz were selected to the Milwaukee Brewerrs’ area code roster, which represents the best in Southern California. The team will compete from August 5-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach. For more information on the teams and history of the 25th annual Area Code games, click here.
Aram reported last week that Claremont junior QB Matt Simko has transferred out, and a source this morning wrote that he is planning to attend Colony. From what I understand, Colony head coach Matt Bechtel was once a quarterbacks coach of Simko. Bechtel, a former Los Osos offensive coordinator, just finished his first year as Colony’s head football coach. This is not confirmed, but this is the second source that says Simko is going to Colony.
L.A. Times writer Eric Sondheimer just wrote: In a move that has stunned alumni and students, Van Nuys Montclair Prep announced that it is dropping its athletic program because of financial reasons. It makes you wonder if other schools could follow suit, especially with lower-level sports programs. Sondheimer also wrote that student-athletes transferring from Montlair Prep to another school will automatically become eligible under a hardship waiver.
Sorry if there were no new postings for a few days, took the Carmageddon weekend off near San Diego for some golf. Former LA Times legend Larry Stewart joined us and brought along UCLA knowitall and former Bruins QB Matt Stevens, who assured us all that UCLA wins at least eight games this year. Man, I hope he’s right. Got some big news for you on the prep front. Whittier prep editor Andrew Campa is leaving us on Friday for other writing opportunities. Whittier is virtually a one-man show and a thankless job. Campa did a wonderful job replacing the legend Roger Murray and will certainly be missed, especially in the short term since we will not replace him with a new hire. Steve Ramirez, who does just about everything, will step into his new role as the Whittier prep editor, but will still cover area colleges and write his college football column on Monday’s. Once we get everything sorted out, this blog will also serve as the prep blog for the Whittier Daily News, with Steve as the main contributor. Aram, our high school football bigshot, will continue covering football for Whittier, Pasadena and the Tribune, but will step into Steve’s old role and help with all prep sports at the Tribune. With Miguel Melendez and Keith Lair in Pasadena, the five of us will help each other to make this work. We know it’s challenging, but you’ve still got five guys who love what they do. Now, if you don’t see as many postings as normal, have some patience. This is late July and I will be gone for a week at the end of the month for my annual trip to Cabo. By August, it’s full steam ahead…Over the next week, we have a bunch of stories to write for the football preview magazine. If you have a thread idea you would like posted, I’m listening. Send it to fred.robledo@sgvn.com.
Inland Insider Tom Kiss reporting that Chino Hills boys soccer coach Kyle Shuler is resigning to become the principal at Oxford Prepatory Academy, a Charter School in the Chino Valley School District. Shuler has been the head boys soccer coach since the school opened in 2001. The Huskies won back-to-back league titles in 2008 and ’09, and have advanced to the playoffs the past five years. “It is difficult leaving, I love the boys and poured my heart and soul into it,” Shuler said. “We preach family and we lived up to it. It was fun to see the program grow. It was a great chapter in my life, but I’m ready to start the next chapter.”
It’s seriously time to start thinking of the Tribune preseason top ten for the magazine. Do you go with West Covina, the only area team to win a divisional title and with the reigning player of the year, Chris Solomon? Do you go with Charter Oak, arguably having the best summer with a confident QB in Travis Santiago? Do you go with Chino Hills, who lost a lot of skilled players, but based on last year, was the best team in our area in the CalPreps’ computer poll? Or do you go with Bishop Amat, who competes in the toughest league, division, and one that hasn’t lost a head-to-head match-up against an area team in years. What I posted below is the CalPreps final California rankings for 2010. As you can see, Chino Hills (23), Bishop Amat (26) and West Covina (29) finished in California’s top 30. The rest of the Trib’s top ten finished between 56 and 234. So, how would you rank them this year?
CALPREPS 2010 STATE RANKINGS
23. Chino Hills (10-3)
26. Bishop Amat (9-2)
29. West Covina (13-1)
56. Bonita (12-2)
111. Claremont (7-4)
130. Charter Oak (6-5)
158. Damien (6-4)
162. Glendora (5-5)
210. South Hills (3-7)
234. Diamond Ranch (5-6)