Aram column in September: From 2006 to 2013, Bishop Amat has one playoff win and several thousand fans and coaches who think the Lancers still belong in the Pac-5 Division, SoCal’s elite playoff grouping.
Following last Friday’s loss to Crespi, the Lancers face an uphill battle just to make the postseason with tough Mission League games left against Serra, Chaminade and Alemany.
If the Lancers don’t make the postseason, it will mark the fourth time in the past nine years that Amat didn’t even go dancing. Considering Amat was in a four or five-team league for most of the past decade, that’s saying something.
Heck, in one of the years Amat did make the playoffs, the Lancers needed the stars to align and a coin flip in their favor on the final night of the season just to make the dance.
This year was supposed to be different. Amat has one of its most-talented teams in quite some time, with three players receiving college offers from some of the top college football programs on the West Coast.

Continue reading “PrepXtra Postgame: Aram’s tune has changed since writing “Bishop Amat doesn’t belong in the Pac-5.” … SGV looking good with six teams in semifinals” »

NOTEBOOK: St. Francis quarterback Jeremiah Martin is out for the season after breaking the collarbone on his non-throwing side in last Friday’s win over Mayfair in the first round of the Southeast Division playoffs. Sophomore Miles Bryant is likely to start Friday’s quarterfinals game against La Serna.
Martin was hoping to put the finishing touches on a breakout season in which the first-year starter had thrown 29 touchdown passes and no interceptions in leading the Knights to an 11-0 record. He suffered the injury while scrambling toward the sideline on St. Francis’ first drive of the third quarter. The score at the time was 35-14, Knights.
“I feel terrible for Jeremiah,” St. Francis coach Jim Bonds said. “It’s a storybook season that he’s had. He exceeded all expectations the coaches had for him.”

MATT FINK GAME-TIME DECISION: Glendora quarterback Matt Fink continues to receive treatment on his injured ankle and has an outside shot to play on Friday against Colony in the quarterfinals of the Central Division playoffs. Tartans coach Jerry Lewallen is considering his star quarterback at a game-time decision.
Fink injured himself in the first half of Glendora’s loss to South Hills two weeks ago. He missed last week’s win over Summit, but may have a chance of playing against Colony if his rehab continues to go well. If not, Ryan DeGuzman will start.

Bishop Amat QB Damian Garcia posted on twitter that he’s been cleared for practice from his rib injury. With Ryder Ruiz playing well the past three weeks and with JSerra up next, Amat has big decisions to make. But either way, they’re in good hands.

Watch Bishop Amat’s next opponent, JSerra, in a thriller over Santa Margarita earlier in the year at Saddleback College.

Head-2-Head
Aram Tolegian (Last Week: 20-9; Season Total: 352-107)
Fred Robledo (Last Week 21-8; Season Total: 352-107)

Below: The question of the week is will Glendora QB Matt Fink return from his high ankle sprain to take on top-ranked Colony?

Last Week: My oh my, after 11 weeks and more than 400 predictions, Aram and I tied with three weeks go. We both missed last week taking La Puente over Montebello, Kaiser over Bonita, El Rancho over Burbank, La Mirada over Salesian and La Habra over Capistrano Valley. But I got Aram on four games taking Azusa over El Monte, Glendora over Summit, Crescenta Valley over Harvard Westlake and Pasadena Poly over Morro Bay. Aram got me on three, taking La Serna over Dominguez, Arrowhead over Cantwell and San Marino over Claremont.

This week: This is one of the best local match-up weeks I can remember. Let’s start with Glendora, I’m hearing that QB Matt Fink is likely to play at Colony, so I’m going with Glendora. And if Fink is fit, they become my new favorite to win it all. I like Charter Oak in an easier than expected win at San Marino. I’m taking West Covina over Bonita in a rematch of West Covina’s 2011 title over the Bearcats, which to this day is still the best championship game I’ve been part of. The pictures tell it all. Will Bonita get its revenge? I don’t think so because Bonita has rarely put together two solid weeks in a row, and West Covina is just better. Monrovia flirted with disaster and will probably pour it on at Los Altos. Pomona is the Mid-Valley favorite in my opinion. Even if the administration stinks and they’re without their head coach on administrative leave, players win games so Pomona will beat San Dimas. Northview will win a tougher than expected game at Montebello, St. Francis will rout La Serna and undefeated Maranatha and Pasadena Poly will move a step closer to a highly anticipated championship in the Northwest. Azusa and Rosemead have no shot at Paraclete and Sierra Canyon, respectively. As for Bishop Amat, time to put on their big boy pants and show they’re capable of beating anyone in the Pac-5. But the question is, who starts on Friday at QB, Damian Garcia or Ryder Ruiz. Glad that’s not my choice to make. Either way, Amat advances.

CIF-SS High School Football Playoffs
Friday’s predictions
Pac-5 Division
Bishop Amat vs. JSerra at Saddleback College, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (BAmat); Aram (JSerra)
Central Division
Glendora at Colony, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Glendora); Aram (Colony)
Charter Oak at San Marino, 7 p.m. — Robledo (COak); Aram (CO)
West Covina at Bonita, 7 p.m. — Robledo (WCovina); Aram (WestCo)
Monrovia at Los Altos, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (Monrovia); Aram (Monrovia)
Mid-Valley Division
Azusa vs. Paraclete at Antelope Valley College, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Paraclete); Aram (Clete)
Northview at Montebello, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (Northview); Aram (Nview)
Pomona at San Dimas, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (Pomona); Aram (Pomona)
Rosemead vs. Sierra Canyon at Granada Hills HS, 7 p.m. — Robledo (SCanyon); Aram (SC)
Southeast Division
St. Francis vs. La Serna at CalHi, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (St. Francis); Aram (SF)
Northwest Division
Maranatha at Arrowhead Christian, 7:30 p.m. — Robledo (Maranatha); Aram (Natha)
Linfield Christian vs. Pasadena Poly at South Pas, 7 p.m. — Robledo (PPoly); Aram (Poly)

Highlights, interviews and crowd shot of Los Altos’ playoff victory over South Hills on Friday.

All Erik Starkey can tell people is that both of his Covina High School cross country teams are in Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section finals.
How they got there?
“It’s hard to explain,” the longtime Colts coach said. “I do not have an explanation for what the kids are doing. Maybe they could explain it. They are highly motivated and I try to not screw it up by watching from the sidelines and pointing them to make the right decisions.”
The girls team is racing in the finals for the first time. The boys team is back in the finals for the first time since 1993.
“They have been highly motivated,” Starkey said. “It’s just been great all year and they have trained really well.”
Saturday’s meet at Mt. SAC starts at 7:45. Seventeen San Gabriel Valley area teams and 12 area individuals are vying for CIF-SS titles in five divisions and berths in next weekend’s CIF State meet at Fresno’s Woodward Park.
Both Covina teams have their work cut for them in trying to win a CIF-SS Division 4 title and earn a berth in the CIF State Division IV meet, which has never happened for either. Bishop Amat is the clear favorite to win both races. The Lancers are the top-ranked team in the state.
“For the boys we’ve been getting closer and closer every year and I felt this year we’d finally gotten there,” Starkey said. “For the girls, this is historic. They have never really been close.”

What: CIF-SS Division 4A girls volleyball championship
Where: Cerritos College, 5 p.m.
Who: Duarte vs. Cate
Preview: Duarte High School has had to scramble in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A girls volleyball playoffs. Cate of Carpinteria has had a relatively easy time.
The top two seeds of the tournament enter Friday 5 p.m., championship match at Cerritos College on very divergent paths.
“I know we’re capable of beating Cate,” Duarte coach Irene Sunabe said.
The second seeded Falcons (26-8) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Anaheim in five games in the quarterfinals and then rallied from two games down to defeat Desert in five games in the semifinals on Tuesday. Duarte also played a five-game Montview League match against Azusa, also a victory.
Cate has not even got to four games this season. The Rams (22-1) have won every one of their non-tournament matches without dropping a game. That is a 48-game run. Their lone loss was in the semifinals of their own tournament, 2-1, to Laguna Blanca.

Continue reading “Duarte girls volleyball hoping to ride momentum to a Division 4A championship Friday against Cate” »

Los Alto’s Guillermo Ocasio reacts after scoring his second goal in a row against La Serna in the second half of a prep water polo semifinal at Diamond Bar High School in Diamond Bar, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. Los Altos won 16-11. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News)

By Stephen Ramirez

DIAMOND BAR — All the Los Altos High School boys water polo team, after losing in the CIF-Southern Section finals last season, was a second chance.
The Conquerors will get it.
Justin Contreras scored six goals and George Millard had five to lead Los Altos to a 16-11 victory over La Serna in a Division 5 semifinal at Diamond Bar High School.
Guillermo Ocasio had three goals for Los Altos, which improved to 21-8 and will face Claremont in Saturday’s final at William Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine. The time will be announced Thursday morning. The Conquerors lost to Glendale in last season’s title game.
George Mooney had three goals for La Serna, which finished 20-12. The Lancers also got two goals each from Perry Louwers, Elias Acosta and Steven Marcy.
The key moment came early in the fourth quarter when it used back-to-back turnovers to score three consecutive goals for a 13-9 advantage. Contreras followed with two back-hand shots to push it to 15-10.
Los Altos’ Justin Contreras: “I said in the beginning of the year we’re going back to the finals to get that ring. I mean it. I really wanted to get back to the finals. It’s my senior year, and I’m going out with a bang.”
Los Altos co-coach Bobby Contreras: “I told the kids before the game that we’re going to make mistakes. But its what we do to fix the mistake. Getting down 3-0, it was a mistake. As long as we kept making the effort to correct the mistake, we were going to be OK. I thought the boys played a very good defensive game against (La Serna’s) attackers.”
La Serna coach Jim Armstrong: “We knew that even though we beat than twice this year we were going to see a different energy out of them tonight. We saw it. Sad part, from our perspective, is that we had them down 3-0, and, after falling behind, came back to lead 7-6 and had momentum. But we had some untimely mistakes and bad passes and they took advantage.”