Sunday Tribbin: Four game of the week options

We could use your input on this one. Next week we all head to Alemany for Bishop Amat’s Serra League title game, and have the Lancers ever looked better during the Hagerty era? Even Aram’s wondering if the Lancers are Pac-5 championship good. I’ve always thought when they developed a potent offense to match their defensive intensity, they would be able to compete with anyone, and you’re seeing that now, a 52-7 win over Notre Dame with QB Ruiz completing 22 of 24 for 346 yards and 5 touchdowns. Said Hagerty. “This was shocking in some respects because they’re a great program. They’ve (Notre Dame) been the people we’ve been chasing. They put 52 on us a couple of years ago and I remember that well. Our kids have come a long way in a few short years and we’re happy about that.” BTW, I love West Covina, but those thinking this is the year they could beat Amat should leave it right there. They might be the best fit in terms of giving them a run for their money, but that’s about it. Speaking of West Covina, is their game against Diamond Ranch game of the week material, or is it Covina visiting San Dimas for the Valle Vista League title? You also have El Monte and Arroyo meeting for first in the Mission Valley League, and Charter Oak and Chino Hills might not be for first, but it’s a step-up game that both desperately need. Of those four, which is the best fit for game of the week? It’s a tough choice, Mike “The Cousin” Robledo would like to know where he’s setting up camp on Friday.


Friday’s games
Glendora at Upland, 7:00pm
Los Altos at Diamond Bar, 7:00pm
Rowland at Bonita, 7:00pm
West Covina vs. Diamond Ranch at Ganesha, 7:00pm
Arroyo at El Monte, 7:00pm
Gabrielino at Mountain View, 7:00pm
South El Monte at Rosemead, 7:00pm
Duarte vs. Gladstone at Citrus College, 7:00pm
Ganesha at Sierra Vista, 7:00pm
La Puente at Bassett, 7:00pm
Workman vs. Azusa at La Puente, 7:00pm
Chino Hills at Charter Oak, 7:00pm
Damien at Ayala, 7:00pm
South Hills vs. Claremont at Covina District, 7:00pm
Covina at San Dimas, 7:00pm
Nogales at Baldwin Park, 7:00pm
Wilson at Pomona, 7:00pm
Northview at Walnut, 7:00pm

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Saturday Morning Quarterback: West Covina whacks Bonita in Southeast Showdown; Bishop Amat’s 9-0 start best this century

West Covina 55, Bonita 21 –– No matter which player Bonita High School’s football team was chasing in Friday’s showdown between the top two teams in the CIF-Southeast Division, West Covina’s speedsters were faster to the finish line. Chris Solomon rushed for 190 yards and scored four touchdowns, including a 98-yard kickoff return in the closing seconds to provide the exclamation point to the top-ranked Bulldogs’ 55-21 victory over the undefeated and No. 2 Bearcats. West Covina improved to 7-1 and 4-0, setting up a showdown next week with Diamond Ranch (5-3, 4-0) for sole possession of first place in the Hacienda League. (to continue, click thread)

Friday’s results
Bishop Amat 52, Notre Dame 7 — Rio Ruiz completed 20 straight passes at one point, finishing with five touchdowns and nearly 400 passing yards in the rout. He was 20 of 24 on the night.
Diamond Ranch 48, Los Altos 14 — The Panthers quietly go to 4-0 in the Hacienda just like West Covina, setting up next week’s game for sole possession of first at Ganesha.
Walnut 33, Rowland 28 — The Raiders’ playoff chances are bleak, while another solid win for the Mustangs, who look like they could steal the final playoff spot in the Hacienda.
Arroyo 49, Gabrielino 6 — The Knights continue to cruise in the Mission Valley, setting up an intriguing game with El Monte next.
Rosemead 38, Mountain View 12 — The Panthers needed this to feel good about their playoff hopes and got it.
El Monte 49, South El Monte 13 — The Lions are tied for first with Arroyo at 3-0 heading into next week’s meeting.
La Puente 33, Sierra Vista 21 – The Dons held a 21-20 halftime lead, but the Warriors rallied in the second half.
Workman 41, Duarte 7 — The Lobos took care of the Falcons, who had five players suspended for disciplinary reasons.
Claremont 42, Ayala 13 — Wolfpack closing in on Sierra League title
Charter Oak 31, Damien 17 — The Huskies may have punched their playoff ticket with a win over the Spartans, and can move into sole possession of second with a win over Chino Hills next.
Chino Hills 51, South Hills 14 — The CH Huskies have looked like world beaters since losing to Claremont.
Covina 21, Pomona 14 — This Colts can win the Valle Vista league title outright with a win at San Dimas next.
Baldwin Park 49, Wilson 25 — The Braves keep their playoff hopes alive with a convincing win after last week’s tough loss to Covina.


Continue reading “Saturday Morning Quarterback: West Covina whacks Bonita in Southeast Showdown; Bishop Amat’s 9-0 start best this century” »

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Thursday Night Lights: Northview, Gladstone stay alive; Azusa closes in on 10-0


Above: Northview’s Marquise Thomas rushed for 173 yards and three TDs to lead Northview to a 41-14 victory over Nogales on Thursday.

Northview 41, Nogales 14
Northview High School knows the road to a CIF-Southern Section playoff bid is out of its hands.
But the Vikings did their part Thursday to stay in the hunt.
Marquise Thomas rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns and Northview stayed alive with a 41-14 victory over Nogales in a Valle Vista League game at Covina District Field.
Northview, also getting 58 yards rushing from Kyle Spears and a 70-yard scoring pass from Raymond Hernandez to Marcus Ellis, improved to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in league. The Vikings, who have lost to first-place Covina and second-place San Dimas, need to win their last two games and hope to finish in a tie for at least second with Baldwin Park, with whom they finish the season.
Nogales, which received 132 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Patrick Miranda, slipped to 1-7 and 0-4.
“We’ll see what happens tomorrow night, and we’ll go from there,” Northview coach Marcel Perez said. “Our kids keep working, and obviously we still have Baldwin Park left, so we’re still trying to fight.”
Gladstone 21, Bassett 6
It wasn’t pretty but Gladstone High School remained tied for second place and stayed on track to win its first Montview League football title since 2005 with a 21-6 victory over Bassett on Thursday night at Citrus College.
The Gladiators (4-4, 4-1) scored twice in the last 3:29 of the first half to break open a defensive struggle, then hung on for the win.
Jerry Gutierrez caused, then recovered, a fumble at the Olympians 6-yard line. Joseph Herrera blasted into the end zone on the next play. He then ran for the extra pointtwo-point conversion and the Gladiators had a 14-6 lead.
Azusa 51, Ganesha 7
Ganesha High School was the first team into the end zone, and it received the best wishes of every Montview League team in its football showdown against visiting Azusa High on Thursday night.
But the Aztecs scored 51 unanswered points to knock off the Giants, 51-7, and improve to 8-0 remain unbeaten at 8-0 overall, 5-0 in league.
Ganesha (3-5, 2-3) took its lone lead of the game when Andy Baeza scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter.
But after Giants quarterback Francis Terriantate was injured late in the second quarter, the offense never recovered. Terriantate had 53 yards on 11 carries and did not play in the second half.
Brian Nieto was the offensive star for Azusa (8-0, 5-0) with 118 yards on just seven carries. Nieto scored on runs of 1, 23 and 37 to pace an Aztecs offense that wasn’t running on all cylinders, but was more than good enough to handle Ganesha.

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Media savvy Bill Zernickow always chooses his words carefully: “They’ve (Covina) got some magic right now. They play well together. We just look forward to being on the same field with them and seeing if we’re good enough to beat them.”

Right said Fred: Now I’m waiting on Colts coach Darryl Thomas to say they put their pants on one leg at a time like the Saints ….

By Aram Tolegian
Besides Covina’s parents, there probably was no bigger group of fans rooting for the Colts to beat Baldwin Park than that of San Dimas. After losing to Baldwin Park two weeks earlier, the Saints needed a Covina win to get back in the league championship race. They got it, and that sets the stage for next week’s game against the Colts … assuming Covina doesn’t get upset by Pomona this week. (to continue click thread)

Continue reading “Media savvy Bill Zernickow always chooses his words carefully: “They’ve (Covina) got some magic right now. They play well together. We just look forward to being on the same field with them and seeing if we’re good enough to beat them.”” »

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Former Amat star Jackson to speak in Pasadena


Above: Former Bishop Amat star John Jackson, shown here with son, John, will speak at the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club on Friday at Brookside Golf Club Restaurant. The weekly luncheon is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Cost for lunch is $25 for members and $20 for non-members.

John Jackson knows a thing or two about tradition.
He attended and played for arguably two of the more-storied institutions in football – Bishop Amat on the high school level, and USC on the collegiate level.
The All-CIF-Southern Section and All-Pac-10 player will reflect on his background on Friday when he speaks at the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club at Brookside Country Club.
The weekly luncheon, which begins at 11:45 a.m., also will feature Alhambra High School football coach Lou Torres. The cost for lunch is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.
Jackson, who also played baseball for Bishop Amat and USC, first made a name for himself when he earned All-CIF honors in 1984 and helped the Lancers reach the second round of the CIF-SS playoffs.
The Brooklyn, N.Y. native, who grew up in Diamond Bar, was All-Pac-10 at receiver in 1989 and lettered all four years for the Trojans. When he left after the 1989 season, he was the school’s all-time leader with 163 receptions for 2,379 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s now eighth.
Jackson, whose 14 catches against Notre Dame in 1989 are the most by a visiting receiver in Notre Dame Stadium, spent three seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears, before moving on to the broadcasting industry. Jackson is the sideline reporter for USC games on ESPN Radio 710 and an analyst for FSN Prime Ticket’s high school game of the week.
– Steve Ramirez

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Cross Country: Read Mt. SAC Invite wrap-up at SGVtrackandfield.net with Bob Ramsey

Cross Country has improved relentlessly over the past ten years, and the huge field and great weather helped that process leaped forward at this year’s Mt.SAC Invitational. The athletes of the San Gabriel Valley kept pace with this trend, with several high placings, and numerous school records. The top performance came from Lauren Justus (Sr – Glendora), whose 17:53 was the fastest SGV time since Jessica Nunez (South Hills) in 2007, and the fastest at the Invite since fellow Tartan Christy Adamyk her PR of 17:27 in 2005. Four other girls ran under 19:00 this year, most notably Marissa Scott (So – Bonita), whose 18:08 was the winning time in her Div. III heat. As a measure of the growing quality of our sport, 14th best in the SGV this year was 19:24, while last year 20:17 was 14th.


Above: Glendora runner Lauren Justus.

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Our day at the CIF-Southern Section office …

The SGVN crew spent the morning at the CIF-Southern Section office (partly because it included a continental breakfast and lunch), but also because it was a great opportunity for reporters across the Southern Section to listen how the Section operates and for us to ask questions. It was very informative in helping understand the CIF bluebook, how they rule on the eligibility of transfers, how they place teams in playoff divisions, how they put brackets together, etc, etc. There was so much information shared, so kudos to CIF and particularly spokesperson Thom Simmons for putting it together. In fact, I was invited by CIF to sit in on Saturday’s pairings day (the day before pairings are released on Sunday) to observe how brackets are put together for playoff divisions and listen in on the conversations in terms of who plays who, and how they decide at-large berths. I can’t share what I observed until the pairings are released, but I would love to come back on Monday and share how the process worked which obviously makes my job of answering your questions about at-large, seedings and placements much easier.


Priceless: Found this picture hanging at the CIF office of Bishop Amat’s Pat Haden accepting the CIF trophy after the Lancers’ 1970 championship…

You want answers: There was a fairly heated exchange at today’s meeting when a reporter asked commissioner Jim Staunton about CIF transfer rulings. When CIF makes a decision on a transfer, it does not follow with a written explanation, they simply make a ruling. The reporter wanted to know what state or federal law CIF was citing for prohibiting them from giving a written or verbal explanation, especially to reporters, after a ruling. Staunton didn’t address the legal aspect, but simply said they do not talk about the specifics of decisions. Simmons said they do not offer written or verbal explanations because it involves confidential information. Fair enough, but the reporter said the reader has a right to know, so lets ask you…


Reporting scores: CIF is in the process of creating a database for schools/coaches to call in results for all sports so that scores and standings are easily accessible on CIF’s webpage, which is something that would benefit all of us. Imagine being able to go to CIF’s website to find results of soccer games played earlier in the day? Enforcing schools to call in results is a different story. It would be nice if the member schools proposed a rule that would require member schools to call in results to CIF. If the member schools could write it into bluebook law, it would be much easier for CIF to enforce it.

Soccer ties or not ties: I learned something all soccer coaches need to know when posting results. When soccer teams are in winter tournaments and ties are decided on penalty kicks, neither team should be credited with a win or a loss, it should simply be a tie. However, if it’s a tournament championship game decided on penalty kicks, the winning team can credit itself with a victory and the losing team must take the loss.

In closing: Whether we agree or disagree with a variety of CIF’s decisions, they care about high school athletics and care about making the best decision they can. Maybe I’m getting soft but the more you talk to people face to face, the better you understand where they’re coming from.

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