Damien and new coach Mike LeDuc headline Tribune Pre-Season Boys Basketball top ten poll

damien

1. DAMIEN
Damien boys basketball standout Bryce Peters, who signed a national letter of intent with Colorado and is the headliner for the Spartans’ defending Division III state champions, was asked what it has been like since legendary area coach Mike LeDuc took over.
“He looks re-charged,” Peters said. “It’s been great. He’s excited for something new.”
LeDuc is one of the winningest boys basketball coaches in section history with 826 career wins. LeDuc won four CIF championships and 15 league titles in nearly 30 years at Glendora before deciding the time was right to return to Damien, where he began his coaching career from 1979-86 before moving to Glendora in 1987.
The opportunity to take over at Damien became available when Spartans coach Matt Dunn, who won a divisional and state title with the Spartans, bolted for St. John Bosco.
“I’m not coming in with the expectation of doing what they did last year, they had a real special team,” LeDuc said. “Our goal is to win as many games as we can and be the best we can possibly be.
“Last year was an incredible year for Damien basketball. Now, we’ve got a new group of kids who are going to write their own story.”
And that group is still pretty special, which is why Damien leads the way as the Tribune’s top-ranked squad as the season gets underway this week.
“The (change) has been great,” LeDuc said. “Of course Glendora was special and there are a lot of memories there. But this is something new and I’m excited about it.”
LeDuc always has let scorers score, so expect Peters to average more than 20 points with a supporting cast that will compete in the super tough Baseline League and be among the favorites in Division 1AA.
Along with Peters, the Spartans return junior Justin Hemsley, the brother of Jeremy Hemsley, who was the back-to-back player of the year now at San Diego State.
Add to that Elijah McCullough, Kaleb Wilborn and 6-foot-7 transfer Isaiah White from Upland to round out what will likely be the starting five.
Peters averaged 14 points last year as the third option behind Jeremy Hemsley and Malik Fitts.
“Bryce is a very, very talented player and this is going to be his opportunity to shine, lead and show what he’s capable of doing,” LeDuc said. “Last year he had to play a different role, this year it’s different and I expect him to have a fantastic season.”

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Tuesday Recap: Kayla Sera had 12 points to lead Glendora to top Don Lugo in girls basketball opener

If you have any scores or stats from any local high school sporting events call them into the desk at 626-544-0992 or 0991 or scores@SGVN

Girls basketball
Glendora 49, Don Lugo 33 — Kayla Sera scored 12 points to lead the Tartans (1-0) to a nonleague victory.

Girls soccer
Rowland 9, Don Lugo 0 — Melanie Romero had six goals and goalkeeper Victoria Miranda recorded a shutout to lead the Raiders (1-0) to a nonleague win. Melissa Rodriguez scored twice and Tyesha Valles scored a goal for Rowland.
Garey 0, Long Beach Jordan 0 — Goalie lliana Gallegos had three saves for the Vikings in a scoreless draw. Garey will host Western Christian on Monday at 3:15 p.m.

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How area tennis players did at CIF-SS individual regionals

San Marino, Arcadia and La Canada are the lone remaining representatives from the San Gabriel Valley after Monday’s CIF-SS tennis individual regional tournaments.
The Titans’ Devon Jack and the Apaches’ Michelle Deng both won their singles draws at the Whittier Narrows tennis courts, as did San Marino’s Madeline Gandawidjaja and Libby Chang, Arcadia’s Rachelle Yang and Angelica Zhou and La Canada’s Cassie and Sophie McKenzie in doubles play.
All third-round winners advance to a Round of 20; 12 players will earn berths in the Round of 16 in Seal Beach and eight players will play for the final four berths at Whittier Narrows next week.
Cassie and her older sister, Ally, reached the doubles semifinals last year. Gandawidjaja and Sophia Lee reached the Round of 20.
The Round of 20 is Dec. 1. The Round of 16 and quarterfinals are Dec. 2 with the semifinals and finals Dec. 3.

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Bishop Amat, Glendora, Charter Oak and San Dimas advance to semifinals

SCOREBOARD: Follow the SGVN quarterfinal scoreboards for scoring updates throughout the night

Charter Oak routs Monrovia: When asked how many times he’s taken a team to the semifinals, Charter Oak High School football coach Lou Farrar was stumped. “Nine times? Twelve?” said Farrar, who has won five CIF championships. “I’ll have to look it up and text you.” Whatever the number, Farrar can add one to it after his Chargers posted a resounding 52-14 win over Monrovia in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Central Division playoffs.”

Sweet runs wild: Bishop Amat’s Torreahno Sweet and Oaks Christian quarterback Matt Corral and USC-bound receiver Michael Pittman put on a quite a show in the CIF-SS Pac-5 Division quarterfinals at Kiefer Stadium on Friday.
But when the dust settled, Sweet and Amat prevailed with a 61-40 victory to end Oaks Christian’s undefeated season and propel Amat back to the semifinals for a second straight year.

Glendora gets payback: Last season Colony defeated Glendora with a hobbled Matt Fink in the second round, scoring two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to break a tied game, on their way to a CIF-SS Central Division championship. Glendora (11-1) earned an opportunity for redemption and made the most of it, defeating Colony 28-14 on Friday night. The Tartans will host their Mayor’s Trophy rival Charter Oak in the semifinals at Citrus College, The Chargers beat Glendora 28-7 in week 4.

Pomona in thriller over Northview: The Northview High School football team led for 47 minutes, 36 seconds of a 48-minute game Friday night, but a 5-yard run by Darreon Lockett gave Pomona its only lead in a 62-55 shootout, sending the reigning champion Red Devils back to the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division semifinals.
The Vikings (10-2) led by as many as 21 points in the second quarter, but Pomona (11-2) scored three touchdowns on the next four drives to tie the game at 34. Northview scored three more touchdowns in the second half, but each one was answered quickly by a Pomona touchdown.

Viewpoint stuns Covina: Seth Frank kicked a 42-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining to lift Viewpoint to an improbable 37-35 victory over Covina in the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division quarterfinal at West Covina High.

San Dimas advances to semis: The Paraclete High School football team came up short against San Dimas in a thrilling 43-28 quarterfinal game in the CIF Southern Mid-Valley Division.The game was much closer than the score would suggest with Paraclete trailing by just six points behind with just over 2 minutes left.

Friday’s results
Pac-5 Division
Bishop Amat 61, Oaks Christian 40
Southwest Division
La Habra 42, Laguna Hills 14
San Clemente 52, Sonora 45
Southeast Division
La Serna 68, Harvard Westlake 42
St. Francis 21, Burroughs 7
La Mirada 38, Dominguez 13
Central Division
Charter Oak 52, Monrovia 14
Glendora 28, Colony 14
San Marino 52, Don Lugo 10
Mid-Valley Division
Sierra Canyon 49, Schurr 14
Pomona 62, Northview 55
Viewpoint 37, Covina 36
San Dimas 43, Paraclete 28
Northwest Division
Aquinas 35, Maranatha 14

Football Semifinals
Pac-5 Division

Bishop Amat vs. St. John Bosco at Cerritos College
Central Division
Summit at San Marino
Charter Oak vs. Glendora at Citrus
Mid-Valley
San Dimas at Viewpoint
Pomona at Sierra Canyon

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Tribskin Pick’em: Taking Amat, Charter Oak, Northview, San Dimas to reach semifinals

SAINTS

San Dimas faces familiar foe: One of the most cringe-worthy road trips any Mid-Valley Division team can take is to Lancaster on a Friday night to take on Paraclete High School.
But perhaps the Mid-Valley team best equipped to deal with it is San Dimas, which has plenty of experience through the years against the Spirits in high-stakes games.
“It’s like a college road trip,” first-year San Dimas head coach Mark Holman said. “We’ll leave here Friday at noon, get up there at 2 and have a walk through. Have some dinner. We’ll try to make it like a normal home game.”

This weeks games and predictions
CIF-SS Playoff Schedule
Football
Friday’s Quarterfinals
All games start at 7:30 p.m., unless noted
Pac-5 Division

Oaks Christian (11-0) at Bishop Amat (9-2) — Robledo (Amat); Aram (BA)
Southwest Division
La Habra (10-1) at Laguna Hills (8-3) — Robledo (La Habra); Aram (LaHab)
San Clemente (9-2) vs. Sonora (9-2) at La Habra HS, 7 p.m. — Robledo (SC); Aram (SC)
Southeast Division
La Serna (9-2) at Harvard-Westlake (8-3) — Robledo (HW); Aram (LS)
Burroughs (10-1) at St. Francis (8-3) — Robledo (St. Francis); Aram (SF)
La Mirada (8-3) at Dominguez (8-3) — Robledo (La Mirada); Aram (LM)
Central Division
Monrovia (8-3) at Charter Oak, 7 p.m. (10-1) — Robledo (COak); Aram (CO)
Glendora (10-1) at Colony (8-3) — Robledo (Colony); Aram (G-Hi)
San Marino (11-0) vs. Don Lugo, 7 p.m. (6-5) — Robledo (SMarino); Aram (SM)
Mid-Valley Division
Sierra Canyon (11-0) at Schurr (6-5) — Robledo (Sierra Canyon); Aram (SC)
Pomona (9-2) vs. Northview (10-1), at CDF, 7 p.m. — Robledo (NView); Aram (N)
Viewpoint (6-5) vs. Covina (7-4), at West Covina HS, 7 p.m. — Robledo (Viewpoint); Aram (View)
San Dimas (8-3) at Paraclete (6-5) — Robledo (SDimas); Aram (Clete)
Northwest Division
Maranatha (7-4) at Aquinas (7-4) — Robledo (Aquinas); Aram (Mara)

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PrepXtra Postgame: We talk playoffs and highlights, interviews with Amat players and coach Hagerty

CIF-SS Playoff Schedule
Football
Friday’s Quarterfinals
All games tentatively set to start at 7:30 p.m.

Pac-5 Division
Oaks Christian (11-0) at Bishop Amat (9-2)
Southwest Division
La Habra (10-1) at Laguna Hills (8-3)
San Clemente (9-2) at Sonora (9-2)
Southeast Division
La Serna (9-2) at Harvard-Westlake (8-3)
Burroughs (10-1) at St. Francis (8-3)
La Mirada (8-3) at Dominguez (8-3)
Central Division
Monrovia (8-3) at Charter Oak (10-1)
Glendora (10-1) at Colony (8-3)
San Marino (11-0) at Don Lugo (6-5)
Mid-Valley Division
Sierra Canyon (11-0) at Schurr (6-5)
Pomona (9-2) at Northview (10-1)
Viewpoint (6-5) at Covina (7-4)
San Dimas (8-3) at Paraclete (6-5)
Northwest Division
Maranatha (7-4) at Aquinas (7-4)

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