SATURDAY’S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHOOTOUT
At Azusa Pacific University
Flintridge Prep vs. Alta Loma, 10:30 a.m.
Rowland vs.Los Osos, Noon.
Girls: Bishop Amat vs. Keppel, 1:30 p.m.
Chino Hills vs. Upland, 3 p.m.
Glendora vs. Bloomington Christian, 4:30 p.m.
Colony vs. Righetti, 6 p.m.
Damien vs. Etiwanda, 7:30 p.m.
La Canada vs. Maranatha, 9 p.m.
FRIDAY NIGHT BASKETBALL
Boys Basketball
Baseline League
Upland at Glendora, 6:30 p.m.
Del Rey League
Bishop Amat at Cathedral, 7 p.m.
Hacienda League
Diamond Bar at Bonita, 6:45 p.m.
West Covina at Rowland, 6:45 p.m.
Walnut at Diamond Ranch, 6:45 p.m.
Mission Valley League
Gabrielino at El Monte, 6:30 p.m.
Arroyo at South El Monte, 6:30 p.m.
Rosemead at Mountain View, 6:30 p.m.
Montview League
La Puente at Azusa, 6 p.m.
Duarte at Sierra Vista, 6 p.m.
Gladstone at Workman, 6 p.m.
Bassett at Ganesha, 6 p.m.
Sierra League
Damien at Charter Oak, 6:30 p.m.
Chino Hills at South Hills, 6:30 p.m.
Claremont at Ayala, 6:30 p.m.
Valle Vista League
Northview at Baldwin Park, 6:30 p.m.
Pomona at Covina, 6:30 p.m.
Wilson at San Dimas, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Baseline League
Upland at Glendora, 5 p.m.
Hacienda League
Diamond Bar at Bonita, 5 p.m.
West Covina at Rowland, 5 p.m.
Walnut at Diamond Ranch, 5 p.m.
Mission Valley League
Gabrielino at El Monte, 4:45 p.m.
Arroyo at South El Monte, 4:45 p.m.
Rosemead at Mountain View, 4:45 p.m.
Montview League
La Puente at Azusa, 4:45 p.m.
Duarte at Sierra Vista, 4:45 p.m.
Gladstone at Workman, 4:45 p.m.
Bassett at Ganesha, 4:45 p.m.
Sierra League
Charter Oak at St. Lucy’s, 4:45 p.m.
Chino Hills at South Hills, 4:45 p.m.
Claremont at Ayala, 4:45 p.m.
Valle Vista League
Northview at Baldwin Park, 5 p.m.
Pomona at Covina, 5 p.m.
Wilson at San Dimas, 5 p.m.
THURSDAY’S SOCCER ROUNDUP
GIRLS SOCCER
Valle Vista League
San Dimas 2, Wilson 0
Maribel Duran and Jeanette Jimenez each scored second half goals for the Saints (15-2-1, 6-0) in a win over the Wildcats (8-4-1, 5-2-0). Duran scored her unassisted goal in the 69th minute when she intercepted an errant pass and found herself behind the Wilson defense and got a shot off that found the lower right corner of the net. On the play, Wilson’s goalie Kaylin Richards tried to shorten the angle on Duran by coming out to challenge her but, Duran made a move to the right which caused Richards to commit and Duran was able to find the net.
“What can you say about her (Maribel Duran). Being an experienced player, she was able to use that experience to make her move and score,” said Wilson’s coach Ricardo Recinos.
Less than six minutes later, Jimenez scored on an assist from Daisy Duran in the 74th minute when Jimenez received a crossing pass from Duran and got a shot off that beat Richards in the lower right corner.
“I told the girls I thought we played really well but, it was our inexperience that cost us the game,” said Recinos. “We start two freshmen and six sophomores and they were able to exploit our inexperience. That’s what a good team does. Hopefully, this will be a good learning experience for us the rest of the season.” The defending Valle Vista champs improved to 13-2-2 and 6-0 in league play. San Dimas was active on offense, taking 42 shots. Saints keeper Britain Chaputa had five saves.
Hacienda League
Walnut 2, Diamond Ranch 0
The Mustangs Amber Marani scored twice in the first half on assists from Julie Lizarraga-Gaeta and Janae Avila. Walnut improves to 7-6-3 overall and 3-1-2 in league.
Montview League
La Puente 2, Workman 0
Sophomore center midfielder Arye Looney is having an outstanding year for the Warriors (6-5-3, 6-1-1). On Thursday, Looney scored her 16th and 17th goals of the season in leading the Warrior (6-5-3, 6-1-1) to victory. “Arye is a very skilled and smart player,” said La Puente coach Ryan Lage. “She has a nose for the ball around the net and also a knack for getting the ball in the net as well as she demonstrated today.”
Looney scored her first goal in the 12th minute on a pass from Michelle Palma and proceeded to dribble behind the Lobos defense and beat Workman’s (1-11-1, 1-6-0) goalie Andrea Vasquez who attempted to cut the angle on Looney who found an open net for the score. Looney scored again in the 60th minute.
Sierra Vista 4, Azusa 0
The Dons got two goals from Jasmine Loera with an assist from Jessica Lopez. Lopez also scored with an assist by Cynthia Hernandez.
Sierra Vista (11-2-2, 8-0) got their final goal from Daisy Ruiz with the assist from Isabel Chavez.The Dons took 18 shots on goal compared to four shots from Azusa. Sierra Vista keeper Rosalma Ramirez had two saves and Bianca Denegas had seven saves for the Aztecs.
Azusa dropped to 5-4-1 and 3-3-1 in league action.
BOYS SOCCER
Montview League
Gladstone 2, Ganesha 1
Behind two unassisted goals from senior midfielder Eric Romo, the Gladiators (6-7-1, 4-4-0) got past the Giants. “We played really well today,” said Gladstone coach J.D. Garcia.
“We played with alot of heart and maturity and hopefully we can continue that effort as we progress through league.” Romo scored his first goal in the 20th minute on a free kick from about 35 yards away. The goal was set up because of a foul committed by the Giants just outside the box.
Ganesha got their goal when Filiberto Oceguera scored unassisted in the 65th minute. In the 75th minute, Romo scored the Gladiators’ go-ahead goal on a penalty kick that was set up by a foul that was committed in the box.
TODAY’S SIERRA LEAGUE SCHEDULE
Boys Soccer
Claremont at Ayala, 5:30 p.m.
Damien at Charter Oak, 5:30 p.m.
Chino Hills vs. South Hills at Covina District Field, 5:30 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Ayala at Claremont, 5:30 p.m.
St. Lucy’s at Charter Oak, 5:30 p.m.
South Hills at Chino Hills, 5:30 p.m.
By Aram Tolegian Staff Writer
She’s the second-leading scorer in the CIF-Southern Section and is putting Workman High School girls basketball on the map, but none of that seems to matter much to Evelyn Herrera.
The 5-foot-7 senior point guard with a 26.3 points-per-game average is more concerned about her teammates and having a good time on the court than what the bottom-line results may say.
“To be honest, I love scoring and everything, but points don’t matter to me,” Herrera said.
“Wins and losses don’t matter to me. As long as me and my girls have a good time, even if we get blown out by 20 to a better team, it’s OK. It’s about having a good time.”
Having a good time has helped Herrera become the Southern Section’s second-leading scorer behind Pasadena Poly’s Michelle Miller. It’s also led Workman to a 14-4 record and breathed life into school spirit as it pertains to athletics.
For Herrera, things that would excite your average high school athlete, like oodles of points and wins, don’t impact her nearly as much. Team camaraderie is more important. Her teammates getting respect is more important.
Herrera is guarded about certain aspects of her life. She freely admits she experienced a difficult childhood, but prefers to keep private about the specifics. She doesn’t shy away from talking about her mother and the financial difficulties that led her out of East Los Angeles and into Workman’s attendance area. Her mother attends every game, even if it means missing work. She gets emotional when talking about her father.
Funeral Arrangements: Funeral services for Michael Okura will be at the Christs Church of the Valley (CCV) in San Dimas on January 28 at 10 a.m. A reception will follow at Christ First Baptist Church in Covina. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the new Mike Okura scholarship fund for student-athletes.
Okura was a teacher and coach at West Covina for more than four decades. After graduating from West Covina in 1963, Okura went to UCLA and finished his bachelor’s degree in English at Linfield College, where he starred in baseball and football.
After graduating from Linfield in 1968, he became an English teacher at West Covina and never left – later earning a master’s degree at Azusa Pacific.
Okura coached varsity baseball for more than a decade in the 1970s and 80s and won two Sierra League titles. He coached one of West Covina’s all-time greats, Tom Brunansky, who spent 14 years in the major leagues.
Okura also was a longtime assistant football coach and served on the staff of popular head football coach Tim Brancheau for more than two decades, and continued as an assistant football coach through the mid-90s. Okura also coached wrestling and basketball, and was a highly regarded teacher.
“He was the most righteous man I’ve ever known,” said Brancheau, who is not coaching football but is still West Covina’s track and field coach. Brancheau has been coaching track for more than 50 years.
“He was a good, good man and the most loyal assistant I ever had,” Brancheau said of Okura. “What I’ll remember most is I never heard a kid or another coach say a negative word about him. He was adored by his students and athletes.”
At this point, the race for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune player of the year is pretty simple, Damien’s Chris Reyes and La Verne Lutheran’s Grant Jerrett are ahead of the pack. Reyes, on his way to St. Mary’s, has the Spartans ranked No. 1 in Division 3AAA. He’s averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the 17-1 Spartans. Lutheran’s Jerrett, the reigning area player of the year headed to the University of Arizona, has been fantastic too. Jerrett is averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for the 15-4 Trojans, ranked second in Division 4AA and 17th in the state by Maxpreps. As always, the playoffs will ultimately decide the winner.
