South Hills continued its recent dominance of the Cory Lidle Memorial Baseball Tournament last week.
Frank Martinez hit two home runs and earned tournament MVP as the Huskies went 6-0, including a 3-2 win over Alta Loma in the championship game.
South Hills, also keyed by senior Jacob Ramos with two wins and three saves, won the tournament for the second consecutive season and scored its third win overall.
The charitable tournament was started in 2006 by local baseball coaches Darren Murphy and Tom Quinley. Lidle was a former star at South Hills who played Major League Baseball. He was killed in a plane crash in 2006.
South Hills coach Darren Murphy: “Timely hits and great pitching gave us a chance to win the ninth annual tournament. It’s great to win this tourney, which takes on special significance with the Lidle connection to this school, as Cory is a former player.”
— Stephen Ramirez
Monthly Archives: November 2014
Aram and I having a hard time with player, coach of the year and the rest of the best
This is the time we start thinking Tribune football player of the year, offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, coach of the year and first team. Aram and I were talking this morning, the big awards are so difficult to choose. Good luck picking player and coach of the year, you pick one you can make a great argument for a couple more. Anyways, that’s what we’ve got to sort out during championship week
Mid-Valley Division Final
Friday’s game
Pomona at Paraclete, 7:30 p.m.
Central Division Final
Saturday’s game
Colony at Los Altos, 7:30 p.m.
Watch highlights of Bishop Amat’s heartbreaking 38-37 loss to Centennial, and final two-point conversion that almost was
Bishop Amat’s miracle comeback falls agonizingly short, 38-37; Los Altos and Pomona punch tickets to championship games
CIF-SS High School Football Playoff results
Pac-5 Division
St. John Bosco 33, Long Beach Poly 21
Corona Centennial 38, Bishop Amat 37
Saturday’s championship: Centennial vs. St. John Bosco, Angels Stadium, 8 p.m.
Central Division
Colony 35, Charter Oak 26
Los Altos 27, Bonita 13
Saturday’s championship: Colony at Los Altos, 7:30 p.m.
Mid-Valley Division
Paraclete 15, Northview 12
Pomona 33, Sierra Canyon 20
Friday’s championship: Pomona at Paraclete, 7:30 p.m.
Southeast Division
Crescenta Valley 41, La Serna 36
Downey 35, Salesian 14
Friday’s championship: Crescenta Valley at Downey, 7:30 p.m.
Continue reading “Bishop Amat’s miracle comeback falls agonizingly short, 38-37; Los Altos and Pomona punch tickets to championship games” »
Bishop Amat reaches semifinal by building its team from the ground up … by not giving into transfers, and that’s just fine for coach Steve Hagerty
In this day and age, teams that typically compete for a CIF-Southern Section Pac-5 Division championship, the most coveted and competitive division in Southern California, are usually loaded with big-time transfers and several others supported by tuition assistance.
Bishop Amat, who advanced to the Pac-5 semifinals with a 24-17 win over second-seed JSerra and will travel to the Inland Empire to take on third-seed Corona Centennial on Friday at 7:30 p.m., is not a school known to operate that way.
Bishop Amat is making its first trip to the semifinals since 1998 and hoping to cash in on its first championship since 1995.
Maybe the long drought has something to do with a school that doesn’t hand out financial assistance like they’re giving out college scholarships. That’s not to say Bishop Amat doesn’t hand out financial assistance, but it hasn’t used it as a tool to attract whoever it wants.
And since coach Steve Hagerty took over in 2008, the school hasn’t had a significant game-changing transfer that’s made a difference. In fact, more impact players have transferred out than transferred in during Hagerty’s tenure.
Bonita’s Angel Verdugo thankful for a second chance as Bearcats on verge of title game

Bonita High RB Angel Verdugo (#23) tries to push the football in for a touchdown despite having his helmet torn off vs San Dimas High at Citrus College Stadium in Glendora, Calif. October 2, 2014. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb/San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
Verdugo, the Bonita High School football team’s star running back was almost the latest chapter in the sad ongoing story about talented players whose off-the-field problems keep them from ever realizing their on-field potential.
“There were a lot of times that I lost a lot of sleep wondering what was going to happen with this kid,” Bonita head coach Adrian Medrano said. “There were a lot of times when I was very concerned.”