SGV All-Star football game Jan. 27; La Canada’s Beasley nominated to play

beasley
By Aram Tolegian
High school football season isn’t over quite yet.The top players in the local area and its surrounding parts will get a chance to showcase their talent one last time in the SGV East/West All-Star Classic on Jan. 27 at West Covina High. Game organizer and West Covina football head coach Mike Maggiore announced over the weekend that Montebello’s Pete Gonzalez will coach the West team while Diamond Ranch’s Eric Martinez will coach the East.
“We’re excited because both guys have a lot of connections in their areas and they have a lot of contacts,” Maggiore said. “I think they’re going to get out the best players in the area. Both guys run wide-open offenses and know what they’re doing.”
Gonzalez guided Montebello to a 11-2 record and the Almont League championship. The Oilers were also semifinalists in Division 11. Martinez, the second-year coach at Diamond Ranch, led the Panthers to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The game, which spawned as a spin off of the Hall of Fame All-Star Game, will also have a tweak in boundary ranges for the selection of players. For the past two years, Maggiore made Azusa Avenue the dividing line between West and East. This year, it’s switching back to the 605 Freeway with the exception of Bishop Amat, which will remain part of the West’s player pool.
The move was originally designed to make the series more competitive and it definitely did that with the West winning both meetings.
“We moved it to the 605 to make it even,” Maggiore said. “I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like it means a lot more to those kids on the west side of the 605. We talked to a few people and felt that it would be in the best interest, competitively, to move it back to the 605.
“Makes it pretty easy and it’s pretty equal if you have Loyola, Salesian, Cathedral, St. Francis, Muir and those schools have all nominated kids. So, when you get those kids, that side is pretty tough.”
Another thing that could make the West team even tougher this year is the presence of La Canada running back Drake Beasley Jr. on the roster. Beasley missed the entire season after being ruled ineligible by CIF following his transfer from Loyola.
Beasley practiced all season with the Spartans and his coaches nominated him to play in the game. Maggiore said if he’s selected to play by Gonzalez when rosters are finalized, which is likely to happen, then Beasley will be as good as in.
“Because he wasn’t able to play in the games this year because of the CIF ruling doesn’t prevent him from playing in this game,” Maggiore said. “This isn’t a CIF game. I don’t want to get into that a whole lot, but he’s not playing for La Canada, or for Loyola, he’s playing as an individual and an all-star team that not only wants him on their team, but you also want the best players in the game.
“For him, he didn’t get to play all year, so it’s kind of a nice way to finish off a pretty miserable football season. It’s not what he wanted or expected, but at least he gets to play one time. And it’s against good competition and I’m pretty sure he’s excited about it. It doesn’t bother me what people say. I believe it’s right and the coach wants him on the team. That’s all that really matters.”

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